Peer-to-peer lending

Peer-to-peer lending commonly abbreviated as P2PL is the practice of lending money to unrelated individuals, or “peers”, without going through a traditional financial intermediary such as a bank or other traditional financial institution. P2PL is not to be confused with peer to peer investing (P2PI). This lending takes place online on peer-to-peer lending companies’ websites using various different lending platforms and credit checking tools. Many also use the abbreviation “P2P” when discussing the peer-to-peer lending or investing industries more generally.