3 P2P lending platforms in Malaysia to watch out for in 2023

By Leandra Monteiro

Recent innovations in the Financial Technology industry have brought forth the concept of peer-to-peer (P2P) lending. P2P lending platforms offer new investment opportunities to individual investors to earn higher rates of return as compared to what traditional lenders usually provide. However, along with being a new investment opportunity, P2P lending is also a high risks area.

In Malaysia, 11 peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms have been regulated by the Securities Commission since 2016. Below are three of Malaysia’s current P2P lending platforms:

• Capsphere

Capsphere is among the first of Malaysia’s P2P asset-based financing platforms registered with the Securities Commission Malaysia. Its mission is to make business financing more accessible and efficient. The company helps businesses access capital to finance their asset purchases by connecting them with investors who seek portfolio diversification and enhanced returns.

Capsphere ensures every loan is secured with an asset. This added measure enables it to provide low-interest financing to SMEs and gives its investor community the confidence to back businesses they believe in.

• Cofundr

P2P (Peer-to-Peer) Crowd Financing offers qualified Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) the option to ‘Crowd Fund’ the financing required by connecting them with potentially thousands of investors via an online platform. With this option MSMEs can now secure the working capital that they need through an alternative source. Meanwhile, investors get risk-adjusted returns by choosing to support the businesses in line with their core values.

All the transactions are carried out through Recognized Market Operators of online P2P Crowd Financing platforms registered with the Securities Commission Malaysia.

• microLEAP

microLEAP is a Malaysian Islamic and Conventional P2P Financing platform that focuses on the microfinance sector. Having complied with the strict guidelines set by the regulator, the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC), it is part of the first new batch of approved P2P (Peer-to-Peer) Financing operators to be given ‘Go-Live’ status in October 2019.

microLEAP aims to be the number one P2P microfinancing platform in Malaysia, servicing micro-enterprises that may find it difficult to borrow via traditional means. The company aims to increase the level of financial inclusion in Malaysia, which ties in well with the Securities Commission’s goals for financial inclusion and Bank Negara Malaysia’s financial inclusion framework.

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