{"id":59166,"date":"2023-10-17T10:00:10","date_gmt":"2023-10-17T02:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-my-161844363.ap-southeast-1.elb.amazonaws.com\/articles\/?p=59166"},"modified":"2024-02-02T14:24:29","modified_gmt":"2024-02-02T06:24:29","slug":"p2p-lending-platforms-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/p2p-lending-platforms-business","title":{"rendered":"Should You Opt For P2P Lending To Fund Your Business?"},"content":{"rendered":"
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are a major contributor to Malaysia\u2019s economy. According to an <\/span>OECD report<\/span><\/a>, Malaysia\u2019s micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) account for approximately 97.2% of total business establishments, generating 38.2% of GDP and providing employment for 7.3 million people as of 2022. However, SMEs tend to struggle with certain issues that are not normally a problem for larger businesses.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n One such problem is access to funding. While the government has been taking extensive steps to <\/span>assist MSMEs with growth<\/span><\/a> and access adequate funding, some businesses have turned to alternative methods of financing to help compensate for this weakness. One such alternate method is P2P lending.<\/span><\/p>\n Instead of applying for loans from banks, Peer-to-Peer (P2P) lending offers businesses the option to obtain funding through an online platform in the form of crowdfunding.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n If this sounds a little sketchy to you, don\u2019t worry! In 2016, Malaysia became the first country in Southeast Asia (SEA) to <\/span>regulate P2P platforms<\/span><\/a> in an attempt to help SMEs.<\/span><\/p>\n There are numerous P2P lending platforms on the market, and each may offer businesses different types of financing options which organisations can choose from according to their needs, such as invoice financing, working capital financing, general business financing.<\/span><\/p>\n In order to qualify for raising funds via P2P lending, businesses will need to meet a certain set of requirements that have been laid out by the Securities Commission (SC). These requirements are as follows:<\/span><\/p>\n Apart from that, certain P2P lending platforms may require a few additional requirements to be met before they approve of certain businesses:<\/span><\/p>\n P2P lending can usually be accessed from a platform\u2019s respective website. Said websites connect borrowers directly to lenders. Each platform will have its own set of rates and terms to enable transactions. Most sites have a wide range of interest rates based on the creditworthiness of the applicant.<\/span><\/p>\n With regards to how money changes hands in a P2P system, firstly, a lender opens an account with the platform and deposits a sum of money to be dispersed in loans. A loan applicant then posts a financial profile that is assigned a risk category that determines the interest rate the applicant will pay.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Following this, the loan applicant can review offers and accept one. Some applicants may choose to break up their requests into different chunks and accept multiple offers. The money transfer and the monthly payments are then handled through the platform. The process can be entirely automated, or lenders and borrowers can choose to haggle. Do note that applicants will only receive money if their money raised hits 80% of the target amount specified. If this minimum is not reached, applicants will have to start over. Any money that exceeds the target amount will be refunded to the lenders.<\/span><\/p>\n In order to protect lenders, the Malaysian Securities Commission <\/span>regulatory framework<\/span><\/a> states that a P2P operator is required to ensure that money obtained from lenders is placed in a trust account until the minimum target amount is met. When an issuer makes repayment to the lender, the P2P operator is also obliged to place the lenders\u2019 money in a trust account. The SC framework also stipulates that the P2P operator must make available all the relevant information to the lender.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span>What is P2P lending?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/span>Eligibility<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
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<\/span>How P2P platforms work<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n