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Post by mrclondon on Feb 12, 2015 13:40:16 GMT
Think it would help if they visited this forum and introduced themselves - clear up a query here and there perhaps. Any chance of the moderators sending them an invite? Anticipating that there would be a need for some input, I alerted MoneyThing to the existence of this thread yesterday morning.
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Post by MoneyThing on Feb 12, 2015 15:57:28 GMT
Dear Forum Members,
I was kindly notified personally by a few of you recently that a discussion had already started on the forum.
Whilst this is my first post, it has been a wealth of valuable information as to what investors/lenders are looking for in a P2P company.
I have to admit, that I was a little surprised to see MoneyThing already being noticed, only from the perspective that having only launched the platform last week I only notified a handful of people (friends and family), in order to get some initial feedback.
Over the last week we have gratefully received from both users and forum members some really useful comments on both the usability of the platform as well as the content of the marketing site and the overall MoneyThing proposition.
We will be launching an update shortly to the platform and will gladly detail the ‘bug fixes’ & ‘enhancements’ on this thread.
We have also made a number of changes to the website to try and explain/clarify the proposition and details regarding default handling. I would anticipate more refining required so I will keep a close eye on the common questions arising to continually improve it.
In answer to some of the questions raised in this thread already, please see below:
1. In its simple form, MoneyThing is a P2P Secured Lending Platform with which you are all familiar with.
However, in order to satisfy lender appetite it is designed to work with a number of partners. MoneyThing buys the loans from the Partner which are then assigned to MoneyThing under a Deed of Assignment. As part of ‘treating customers fairly’, each of the borrowers are sent a letter by the Partner informing them that their loan has been assigned to MoneyThing, however their relationship remains with the Partner from a redemption prospective.
As part of the contractual relationship between the Partner & MoneyThing, the Partner commits to buy the loan back from MoneyThing in the event of default. Therefore, the lender is paid back the capital and final month’s interest payment at the end of the loan term. Whilst the borrowers may choose to renew the loan, the Partner still commits to buy back the loan from us and we may then buy that loan back again but only as a brand new loan.
From the Partner’s prospective, they are using their existing loan book as collateral in order to raise finance from MoneyThing. Unfortunately, many asset finance companies (such as pawnbrokers), find is difficult to raise finance through traditional channels due to the perceived reputational risk and therefore many simply grow their business from reinvested profits only even though they often struggle to service the demand (particularly at the lower end of the market).
Whilst MoneyThing has just one at the moment, we are actively looking to link with a number of other Partners for secured lending opportunities. This will then allow us to buy a variety of different types of loans (value, type, etc,) in order to give lenders/investors a wide choice of what they may like to invest in. For example, as a classic car buff, my father wants to wait to invest in classic cars when they become available. I also know that some investors dislike investing in property but also that many only want to look at property. The Partner model is principally to give as much choice for the lender/investor.
2. Will hopefully get some more Facebook Likes as we improve!
3. Thank you for the feedback on the Interest Calculator. Americanisation of spelling has been corrected.
4. I acknowledge that the ‘Activation Code’ process is a bit clunky. We have reverted back to a more familiar process which will be launched in the next update later this afternoon/tomorrow morning once fully user tested.
5. Due to the location and market segment our first Partner operates, majority of their pawns are jewellery and watches. As we grow our Partner network, the choice will increase.
6. For all the loans originated by the Partner, the assets are retained, stored and insured at their own facility/branch.
7. With respect to Hallmarking – I am awaiting a response from the Partner as they are best placed to answer this question. I do know that the Partner tests the purity and weight of all jewellery and makes much of their decision of value based on the pure scrap value of the precious metal.
8. To answer questions regarding the Isle of Man connection - MoneyThing has established an Isle of Man branch of its UK business for the simple reason that, as its principal shareholder, I am Manx (by birth) and reside here. In addition to this the Isle of Man has a mature financial centre which funds the UK banking sector, consequently we believe that there are opportunities for a peer-to-peer business to grow in this jurisdiction.
The Isle of Man branch will provide a number of administrative support services to the UK business however these activities will be subject to FCA oversight, details of which will be included in our application for full authorisation in due course. It should also be noted that investor and borrower terms are subject to the laws of England and Wales and 'client money' is maintained in segregated accounts held at a UK branch of Barclays.
In addition to FCA oversight the Isle of Man branch will be supervised by the Isle of Man Office of Fair Trading who are responsible for Moneylending on the Island.
We anticipate the Isle of Man financial services regulator, the Financial Supervision Commission ("FSC") will be monitoring the development of the UK peer-to-peer industry and the development of its regulation. It is likely that the FSC will also note our expansion into their jurisdiction with interest however it should be noted that they do not currently have a mandate to supervise peer-to-peer activities.
Thanks again for all your comments and feedback. I am sure you will have more questions and will therefore keep a close eye on this thread.
Kind regards,
Ed
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webwiz
Posts: 1,133
Likes: 210
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Post by webwiz on Feb 12, 2015 21:27:05 GMT
Progress Report
Opened account with no problems. Account activation worked OK. Deposited a small sum and sent it by BACS transfer but it has not yet appeared in my account. Maybe needs manual intervention. Intend to invest in the property loan. Take care to make a note of the reference number given to make the BACS. It seems to be different for each transfer, so it is not any sort of customer number. When making the second BACS be sure to use the new reference, not the one probably already set up in your on-line bank account from the previous one.
Later edit: As a response to this post (and bugs4me) they have already changed the reference number - see their post below. Impressive. Update of funds was manual, but very fast.
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Post by MoneyThing on Feb 12, 2015 21:44:11 GMT
Hi webwiz,
Many thanks for making a deposit.
The reconciliation part is manual for the time being, although we are working on an API to automate this.
We will be checking the bank account first thing in the morning.
Kind regards,
Ed
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bugs4me
Member of DD Central
Posts: 1,843
Likes: 1,469
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Post by bugs4me on Feb 12, 2015 22:51:24 GMT
Progress Report Opened account with no problems. Account activation worked OK. Deposited a small sum and sent it by BACS transfer but it has not yet appeared in my account. Maybe needs manual intervention. Intend to invest in the property loan. Take care to make a note of the reference number given to make the BACS. It seems to be different for each transfer, so it is not any sort of customer number. When making the second BACS be sure to use the new reference, not the one probably already set up in your on-line bank account from the previous one. From memory a BACS transfer can take a couple of days. The changing reference numbers each time a deposit is made is an unnecessary action MoneyThing and will cause problems - guaranteed. My bank uses FP's and stores the reference number from previous deposits. Surely each lender/investor has a unique reference number for their account with yourselves.
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Bagman
Member of DD Central
Posts: 208
Likes: 129
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Post by Bagman on Feb 12, 2015 22:59:36 GMT
I have signed up as well.
I am very impressed with the response time from them,
I had a small problem with the deposit page not accepting numbers with a decimal point and thus resetting the reference numbers needed for the bacs transfer. But I had already sent the deposit from my bank.
I sent them an email about it at 10.20pm.
Ed Pearce (The Boss) emailed me at 10.41pm from his iPhone to say that a fix was being uploaded tonight, the capcha puzzles were in the process of being removed to make things easier and that he would reconcile my deposit with the incorrect reference in the morning .
Now that is quick work..
Stu..
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Post by MoneyThing on Feb 13, 2015 9:53:14 GMT
Morning,
As promised, just dropping a note on here with regards to the changes we made on the system last night:
1. Removed all captcha verification. (We may reintroduce this if it becomes necessary).
2. Simplified registration process.
3. Added a resend activation email link.
4. Updated fields validation logic on the registration form. It is now possible to use username and password up to 20 characters in length. Address fields now accept inputs up to 100 characters in length.
5. Payment reference is now unique per user instead of per payment.
6. Deposit Amount filed now accepts numeric values with up to 2 decimal places
7. Format a few response pages to make the look and feel more consistent
8. Fixed a few styling issues that affected Internet Explorer users only.
Kind regards,
Ed
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Post by MoneyThing on Feb 13, 2015 10:56:50 GMT
Morning,
Just following up from my first post in reference to the query regarding Hallmarking.
I have just received a response back from our Partner:
"In the event of default, any non-hallmarked items would be taken to the assay office for hallmarking before being disposed/retailed."
Hope this answers your question.
Kind regards,
Ed
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alison
Member of DD Central
Sanctuary!!
Posts: 356
Likes: 99
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Post by alison on Feb 13, 2015 11:46:04 GMT
Morning, Just following up from my first post in reference to the query regarding Hallmarking. I have just received a response back from our Partner: "In the event of default, any non-hallmarked items would be taken to the assay office for hallmarking before being disposed/retailed." Hope this answers your question. Kind regards, Ed MoneyThing Disappointed to see that not all the borrowers details have been redacted.
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Post by MoneyThing on Feb 13, 2015 12:27:01 GMT
Morning, Just following up from my first post in reference to the query regarding Hallmarking. I have just received a response back from our Partner: "In the event of default, any non-hallmarked items would be taken to the assay office for hallmarking before being disposed/retailed." Hope this answers your question. Kind regards, Ed MoneyThing Disappointed to see that not all the borrowers details have been redacted. Our apologies, now redacted. Regards, Ed
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alison
Member of DD Central
Sanctuary!!
Posts: 356
Likes: 99
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Post by alison on Feb 13, 2015 12:37:34 GMT
MoneyThing Disappointed to see that not all the borrowers details have been redacted. Our apologies, now redacted. Regards, Ed Thanks for responding so quickly and resolving the matter. You've made a good start!!
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Post by MoneyThing on Feb 13, 2015 12:40:36 GMT
Very kind of you to say so. I am very happy to maintain slow and steady growth so that I can ensure we are always this responsive as I increase resource (or automate more things).
Kind regards,
Ed
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am
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Post by am on Feb 13, 2015 13:26:56 GMT
In the event of a default by the borrower, and the security found to be insufficient, who takes the hit - the partner or the lender? Given the statement that the partner signs up to buy the loan back it seems to me that the partner is taking most of the risk - the lender is only at risk if the partner goes under or otherwise fails to meet his obligations. Is this the case?
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am
Posts: 1,495
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Post by am on Feb 13, 2015 13:30:03 GMT
Will loans be advertised as associated with particular partners, and will the line of business of each partner be made clear?
(Certain types of lending are outside the scope of what I am comfortable with considering ethical, so I might well wish to avoid certain partners.)
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Post by MoneyThing on Feb 13, 2015 14:27:03 GMT
Afternoon am,
You make a very valid point and can understand your rationale.
Whilst it is clear in the loan document who the loan originator is (Partner or MoneyThing directly), I will look at making this clearer and add an additional column on the loan list which shows who the originator is.
Would this assist in your decision making process?
Kind regards,
Ed
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