Zopa announces that it has today been granted full authorisation by the FCA for peer-to-peer lending (Article 36H).
Giles Andrews, co-founder and Chairman of Zopa commented: “Zopa, both individually and as a founder member of the Peer-to-Peer Finance Association (P2PFA), has campaigned for peer-to-peer lending to be a regulated activity for a number of years. We are delighted to receive our full FCA authorisation.”
Jaidev Janardana, Zopa’s CEO, said: “The authorisation process has been rigorous and in-depth and involved extensive scrutiny of our business. We will continue to focus on serving UK borrowers and investors through our market-leading products and best-in-class customer experience. In addition, we are also working towards applying for a banking license which will allow us to offer great customer choice whether you are spending, borrowing, saving or investing”.
Full Authorisation from the FCA is a pre-requisite for Zopa to offer the Innovative Finance ISAs (IFISA). Following notification that Zopa has been granted full authorisation, it will seek permission from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to become an ISA Manager. Further details of the launch of Zopa’s Innovative Finance ISA will be announced following HMRC’s decision.
