FAQ / Help

Peer-to-peer or "p2p" loans are arranged between individuals without involving a bank. The lender chooses the loan projects and ideally invests in multiple projects to build a diversified portfolio. Borrowers receive their funds directly from lenders. This means better returns for lenders and lower interest rates for borrowers than they would get from banks.

LEND connects lenders and borrowers directly and online. Better rates for everyone!

LEND arranges loans directly between individuals in a straightforward and efficient way. Our overhead costs are substantially lower than those of a bank and we pass on these savings to borrowers and investors. Borrowers profit from low interest rates and investors earn significant returns.

LEND is completely fee-financed, and has no interest in offering high interest loans. The reasonable interest rates earned on our loans compensates LEND investors for the risk of their investment.

Switzerlend AG has a lending licence from the "Amt für Wirtschaft und Arbeit", a member of the self-regulatory organisation Polyreg and as such a supervised financial intermediary.

Switzerlend AG is contractual counterparty to both borrowers and lenders. This means that borrowers enter into a loan agreement with Switzerlend AG and investors purchase claims from such loan contracts by means of claim purchase and claim assignment.

This principle structure guarantees that the regulatory obligations remain with us and not our users. We can ensure compliance with regulation regarding Anti-Money Laundering and consumer loans.

This is a stable structure that we can build on.

LEND charges a fee for arranging the loan, managing all associated documentation, loan payment processing and general support of LEND members at every step of the way. The interest rate on individual loans has no effect on fees charged.

Borrowers pay an annual score based fee between 0.20% and 1.00% for personal loans and between 0.70% and 1.30% for business loans of the total loan amount. This fee is charged for the entire period of the loan and is deducted from the initial loan payout. For example, a consumer loan of CHF 10’000 with score B for 36 months has an annual fee of 0.8% (= CHF 80), i.e. a total fee of CHF 80 x 3 years = CHF 240. The actual payout is CHF 10’000 - CHF 240 = CHF 9’760.

Investors pay an annual fee of 1.00% of their total investment. This fee is deducted from the monthly interest and amortization earnings paid to the investor. For example, an investor who loans CHF 1’000. for 36 months pays an annual fee of CHF 10. Approximately CHF 0.83 will be deducted from their monthly earnings.

For further information please consult the fee schedule.

LEND is a service of Switzerlend AG, located in Zürich, Switzerland.

All LEND data servers are located in Switzerland, they are subjected to the highest security standards and are SSL-encrypted. All personal data is handled with the utmost care and discretion. Third parties have no access to your data.

Lend guarantees complete anonymity for borrowers and lenders. LEND is the contractual party for each side and loans / investments are referenced with a unique identifier.

LEND maintains a transaction account with Postfinance. This account is managed independently and fully separated from LEND's company account. It is solely used for the purpose of managing cash flows between borrowers and lenders and with LEND.

LEND is registered as a financial intermediary and supervised by the SRO PolyReg which itself is supervised by the Swiss Financial Market Authority FINMA. As a financial intermediary we are required by law and regulation to identify all LEND members in accordance with the Swiss Anti-Money Laundering Act.

As a borrower for a personal loan, send us a certified copy of your passport, your ID and/or your foreign national identification card ("Ausländerausweis").

For a business loan, as an owner you send us a certified copy of your passport, your ID and/or your foreign national identification card ("Ausländerausweis") and for the company you send us a certified commercial registration. Alternatively, you can make an identification payment of CHF 5 from your personal Swiss bank account and company Swiss bank account to us.

As a lender, you have two options.

1. IDNow - with the click of a button we transfer you to our partner IDnow who will identify you all online in a few minutes. All you need is your smartphone and ID/passport; or
2. ID and control payment - you upload a copy of your passport/ID and make an identification payment of the CHF 5.00 from your bank account. We then reconcile the payment information with the identification document. Done.

Bank account details are required for the processing of all payments. When a loan is successfully funded, we transfer the the money of our lenders to the borrower's bank account. And the monthly payments from the borrower we transfer to the lender's bank account in the same fashion.

LEND arranges loans in a straightforward and efficient way. Our overhead costs are substantially lower than those of a bank and we pass on these savings to borrowers in the form of lower interest rates.

The whole process is quick and easy to understand, and can be completed online, either at home or on the go with your cell phone. There's no need to worry about business hours.

Through LEND, almost anyone can receive a loan, as long as you are not a minor, you live in Switzerland and you have a Swiss bank account. Borrowers should also have a regular source of income.

LEND assigns an individual credit score to every borrower based on information provided by the borrower and third-party providers ("Scoring"). This includes information such as complaints registered at the local Debt Enforcement Office, entries at the Central Office for Credit Information/ZEK or overall debt-to-income ratio for personal loans and key financial ratios comparison, market and industry outlook for business loans.

Although the scoring process for consumer and business loans is quite different, in both cases the score reflects the probability that the borrower will pay back the loan in full and hence should be comparable.

The LEND risk score is mapped to the risk categories A, B, C or D. Each risk category represents a term-based range of interest rates within which the borrower may apply for a loan on the LEND platform.

Yes, you can. There are many different reasons taking a loan makes sense, whether it's paying off more expensive debt, renovating your home or an unexpected bill from the dentist. Whatever your loan needs are, you're at the right place with LEND.

For SMEs we offer loans for various categories such as growth, liquidity, fixed asset investment, research and development, real estate, pre-financing of current assets, debt rescheduling and refinancing.

If you are interested in loans for students or other educational needs, we recommend you visit Splendit on www.splendit.ch. They specialize in exactly this type of financial support.

Registering as a borrower and placing a loan request are free of charge. After your loan project is successfully funded you pay an annual score based fee between 0.20% and 1.00% for personal loans and between 0.70% and 1.30% for SME loans. This fee is charged for the entire term of the loan and deducted from the initial loan payout. For example, a private loan of CHF 10’000 with score B for 36 months has an annual fee of CHF 80, i.e. a total fee of CHF 80 x 3 years = CHF 240. The actual pay out comes to CHF 10’000 - CHF 240 = CHF 9’760.

As a borrower we recommend to take out an insurance with our Partner Helvetia Versicherungen, covering the risks of unemployment, death and disabilities. The insurance premium is a percentage of the monthly rate and is invoiced as part of it. For example, if you lose your job due to a restructuring, Helvetia will pay your monthly rate for a maximum of 12 months. This should be sufficient time for you to get back on your feet.
Important: An insurance normally enhances the credit risk and hence results in lower interest rates.

For further information please consult the fee schedule.

Your loan is financed by investors who rather invest their money in private individuals than some expensive financial product where it is the bank that makes the big profit. Normally, they also like the concept of collaborative consumption. Crowdlending is right down there.

After just a few clicks, you will receive a non-binding offer for your loan request. LEND then reviews your specific situation and adjusts the credit amount or interest rate based accordingly. In order to do this we require the following information and/or documents.

For personal loans:

• Your personal details
• A copy of your passport, your ID or your foreign national identification card ("Ausländerausweis")
• Salary statements for the last three months
• A copy of your status in the Debt Enforcement register ("Betreibungsregisterauszug")
• Your personal credit report from ZEK (Central Office for Credit Information)

For SME loans:

• Commercial registration of the company and copy of the owner's passport, ID or foreign national identification card ("Ausländerausweis")
• Financial statements of at least two years and most recent AHV and VAT bills
• A copy of the company's Debt Enforcement register, not older than one month

Once we have verified all your documents, we will publish your loan project on our website for funding by our investors. You will also receive a loan contract that you should sign and return together with a certified copy of your passport/ID/foreign national card ("Ausländerausweis") to us. We will then pay out your loan to your bank account. If you have a running loan at another bank, we will pay directly to that bank and transfer the remaining amount to you.

LEND assigns an individual credit score to every borrower, based on information provided by the borrower, combined with third-party information ("Scoring"). The score reflects the probability that the borrower will pay back the loan in full. LEND uses this score to divide borrowers for both consumer and SME loans into risk categories A, B, C, D or E. Each risk category represents a range of interest rates within which the borrower may apply for a loan on the LEND platform. Within this interest rate range, LEND will assign a concrete interest rate, based on factors like the loan period and the amount of the loan.

In addition to the traditional risk classification methodology, we also factor in a few more modern and innovative methods to assess risk. On top, LEND borrower can take out insurance, covering risks against death, disability or unemployment.

LEND exchanges information with all offices and information providers required for a thorough risk underwriting. Typically, this involves the Central Office for Credit Information (ZEK/IKO), credit reporting agencies and debt collection agencies.

LEND will prosecute any attempted fraud and press criminal charges in any event. All documents required by LEND can and will be verified.

Yes.

Payments are due monthly and you will receive an electronic bill from LEND at the end of the month. Bills are accessible through your LEND dashboard, but we will also send the bill to you via email. In order to avoid any gaps in your payments and the ensuing late fees, we suggest you create a recurring payment order ("Dauerauftrag") with your bank.

If you fail to make a payment by the due date, you are automatically in default with no further notification. We will send payment reminders for which we charge an additional fee. Please refer to fee schedule for a complete overview.

Also, we are entitled to terminate your loan contract if you are late with monthly rates which amount to at least 10% of your loan amount. We have deliberately made the rules surrounding payment default harsh because we are dealing with money and issues of trust, both of which must be protected at all costs. We are confident that these actions will only be necessary in a few, isolated cases.

Yes. You can pay off the remainder of your loan before the end of the contracted loan term, please refer to the fee schedule for early repayments.

Registering as a borrower and creating a loan project is free. After your loan project is successfully funded you pay an annual score based fee of 0.20-1% of the total loan amount. This fee is charged for the entire term of the loan and deducted from the initial loan payout. For example, a loan of CHF 10’000 with score B for 36 months has an annual fee of CHF 80, i.e. a total fee of CHF 80 * 3 years = CHF 240. The actual pay out is therefore CHF 10’000 - CHF 240 = CHF 9’760.

As a borrower you should also protect your monthly payments with our Partner Helvetia Versicherungen against the risks of unemployment, death and inability to work. The insurance premium is a percentage of the monthly rate and will be invoiced as part of it. For example, if you lose your job due to a restructuring, Helvetia will pay your monthly rate for 12 months. This should be sufficient time for you to get back on your feet.

The following services at LEND are free

• Registration and account management
• Creating, verifying and publishing a loan project

Your fees are deducted directly from the initial loan payout. Insurance premiums are added automatically to your monthly rate.

It takes just a few minutes to open an account. Fill out the online form and confirm your email address. Then, complete the identification using one of the following options:

1. With the click of a button we transfer you to our partner IDnow who will identify you all online in a few minutes. All you need is your smartphone and ID/passport.
2. You upload a copy of your passport/ID and make an identification payment of the CHF 5.00 from your bank account. We then reconcile the payment information with the identification document. Done.

You select the loan projects that suit your needs. For every loan project listed, we provide detailed information that enables you to build a truly personalized, individual portfolio.

Bank account details are required for the processing of all payments. When a loan is successfully funded, we transfer the the money of our lenders to the borrower's bank account. And the monthly payments from the borrower we transfer to the lender's bank account in the same fashion.

Investors pay an annual fee of 1.00% of their total investment. This fee is deducted from the monthly interest and amortization earnings paid to the investor. For example, an investor who loans CHF 1’000. for 36 months pays an annual fee of CHF 10. Approximately CHF 0.83 will be deducted from their monthly earnings.

LEND checks each borrower against creditworthiness databases in our parameterized application process and assign a risk score based on our proprietary risk model and further data from third party providers.

Low default rates are our top priority.

Yes. The minimum bid size is CHF 1'000 for private and business loans.

NAR means Net Annualised Return which is a measure of the annualised rate of return on the actual principal invested over the term of your investment. In other words, it accounts for the fact that loans are amortising and the return is measured against the actual outstanding capital.

The NAR calculation is based on the projected monthly payments (net of fees) to the investors and assumes that capital repayments are reinvested around half of the term.

Yes. Once you have confirmed your investment you are bound to honour that commitment.

No. We request that a loan is fully financed.

LEND manages and monitors the entire payment process. All payment activity is routed through our master account at Postfinance. Once we receive a borrower's monthly rate we split it up and transfer the correct portion to your account. You don't have to worry about the arrival of funds - we take care of that for you.

Yes. LEND has a vested interest in keeping the risk of loan default to an absolute minimum. Each borrower is rated with an individual score ("Scoring") that reflects the probability that the borrower will pay the loan back in full. This score is then used to place borrowers into risk categories A, B, C, D or E. As of recently we also consider self-employed persons and divide them into risk categories S1, S2 and S3. Each risk category corresponds with a range of interest rates within which the borrower may apply for a loan on the LEND platform.

Most borrowers are insured against the risks of unemployment, death and disability. However, investors must be aware that they may lose their full investment. As an investor, you assume all responsibility for the investment decisions made. Please note that the score and the interest rate offered for a loan are not a binding assessment of the actual ability of the borrower to pay off the loan. LEND makes no recommendation about financing loans.

There is no investor protection for investments and LEND or borrowers are not under direct supervision of the financial regulator Finma. However, Lend is a member of SRO Polyreg and a regulated financial intermediary.

Most borrowers are insured against the risks of unemployment, death and disability. However, there are no other guarantees and a complete loss of your investment is a possibility.

Committed amount: Loan requests that you committed to invest in which are still in funding, under review, or in the process of being paid out.

Current: Loans that are up-to-date on outstanding payments.

In Grace: Loans that are “In Grace” are up to 15 days past the due date.

Late 15+: Loans that are “Late 15+” have not been “Current” for 16 to 30 days.

Late 30+: Loans that are “Late 30+” have not been “Current” for 31 to 45 days.

In Collection: Loans that are in “Collection” are loans for which Switzerlend AG started the Collection process. In general, a loan enters “Collection” status when it is 45+ days past due.

Default: Loans that are in "Default" are loans for which borrowers have failed to make payments for an extended period of time. In general, a loan enters Default status when it is 120+ days past due.

Charged Off: Loans become “Charged Off” when there is no longer a reasonable expectation of further payments.

If borrowers fail to make a payment by the due date, they automatically fall into default with no further notification. We will send payment reminders and where necessary enforce outstanding payments. Late fees may apply at the level of the effective interest rate of the loan contract.

We are also entitled to terminate a loan contract if a borrower is late with monthly rates amounting to at least 10% of the loan amount. Obviously our primary goal is to handle late payments in a way that a borrower finds back on track and continues paying the monthly rates on time. All enforcement efforts are performed by out in-house specialists with the overarching goal to find the best solution for our investors.

As investor you have full transparency of the status of all your investments in your personal dashboard. We will also proactively keep investors informed on the progress of any special cases.

Collection: Loans that are in “Collection” are loans for which Switzerlend AG started the Collection process, i.e. debt enforcement. In general, a loan enters “Collection” status when it is 45+ days past due.

Default: Loans that are in "Default" are loans for which borrowers have failed to make payments for an extended period of time. In general, a loan enters Default status when it is 120+ days past due.

A loan that is in “Default” will still appear in your investment overview, in the status of “Default”.

Charged Off: A loan becomes “Charged Off” when there is no longer a reasonable expectation of further payments. In certain circumstances, loans may be charged off at an earlier or later date. Please note, loans for which borrowers have filed for bankruptcy may be charged off earlier based on the date of bankruptcy notification.

Switzerlend AG may sell charged-off loans to a third party. In the event that a charged-off loan is sold to a third party or funds are recovered on a previously charged off loan, investors will receive a pro rata share of the sales proceeds or recovery amount, respectively, less any fees. In general, recoveries on previously charged-off loans are infrequent.

A loan that has been “Charged Off” will appear as charged off, and the remaining principal balance of the loan will be deducted from your outstanding balance.

As an investor you should invest your overall investment amount in as many loan projects as possible, creating a diversified portfolio.

While the default rage of the Swiss consumer loan market is low with 1-2%. a total loss of your investment is a possibility.

It is of utmost importance to us that our investors do NOT have to bear counterparty risk regarding LEND. We modeled the worst-case scenario of a resolution of LEND multiple times and drew the following consequences from this:

As part of the strategic partnership between LEND and Intrum Justitia for risk underwriting, data and process management, Intrum Justitia agreed that in the event LEND no longer exists, it will take over the management of all running loans until their individual maturity, potentially in a successor/rescue company.

In addition, the following is important to understand: an investment means that you purchase a claim from the loan contract between LEND and a borrower which is transferred by means of the “Abtretungsvertrag”. This means that, in essence, you have an independent claim against the borrower that you could enforce directly. However, this is not the idea and contractually prohibited for as long as LEND or Intrum Justitia manages the claims.

Investors pay an annual fee of 1.00% of their total investment. This fee is deducted from the monthly interest and amortization earnings paid to the investor. For example, an investor who loans CHF 1’000. for 36 months pays an annual fee of CHF 10. Approximately CHF 0.83 will be deducted from their monthly earnings.

The following services at LEND are free

• Registration and account management
• Creating, verifying and publishing a loan project

Investor fees are directly deducted from the monthly earnings.