The Association of NBFC P2P Lending Platforms, which acts as a representative for the country’s P2P lending industry recently completed it’s first year since inception and announced the appointment of a new set of office bearers.

The Association will be now led by:

The Association expanded by adding new members namely, Faircent.com, LenDen Club,  Lendbox, Anytimeloan. These alongwith existing members namely, OML P2P, i2ifunding, Monexo, PaisaDukan, Finzy, Cashkumar, Liquiloans, Micrograam, Lendsmartp2p, Peerlend and Indiamoneymart will make the association stronger and more representative of P2P lending in India as it becomes the largest body representing the sector.

Speaking on his appointment Mr. Rajat Gandhi, the newly elected President of the Association of NBFC-P2P Lending Platforms, said

“I thank the outgoing team for their exemplary work in getting all the players together, engaging with the regulator and in addressing the issues plaguing the industry.  For the next two years we would like to concentrate on building a robust ecosystem for the P2P lending industry which will drive the financial inclusion agenda of the government.”

In the last year, the association has worked with the regulator in ironing out the regulatory challenges which were plaguing the industry. The Reserve Bank of India in its statement on Development and Regulatory Policies on 5th December 2019 has recognized the scope in Review of NBFC-P2P Directions under two heads – Aggregate Lender Limit and Escrow Accounts. The regulatory authority has decided that in order to give the next push to the P2P lending platforms, the aggregate exposure of a lender to all borrowers at any point of time, across all P2P platforms, will be increased to a cap of Rs. 50 lakh. It has further proposed to do away with the current requirement of escrow accounts to be operated by bank promoted trustee for transfer of funds having to be necessarily opened with the concerned bank, leading to more flexibility in operations.

This landmark response from the regulator has surfaced after continued efforts of the Association of NBFC P2P Platforms under the leadership of outgoing team led by Mr. Pramod Akhramka, Founder OML P2P as President, and Mr. Mukesh Bubna, Founder Monexo as Treasurer of the association.

Elucidating on the importance of P2P platforms association, Mr. Rajiv Ranjan, re-elected Secretary of the association said, “The phenomenon of P2P lending has emerged as an enabler to bring in large number of unbanked people into financial system directly and rapidly. The association will work towards bringing more credibility to the sector that is growing at a very fast pace.”

Going forward, the association will focus on inducing more transparency in the P2P lending ecosystem by ensuring relevant data circulation within the industry - with analysts and researchers as well as in the public domain. Association’s aim is to create awareness on peer-to-peer lending and to promote merits among individuals and institutional customers. It also aims to to form P2P industry standards for self-regulation.

With these fresh objectives, Ms. Manisha Bansal, re-elected as the Vice President of the association adds, “Through the association, it will be our endeavour to promote transparency and best practices norms amongst all, as this can help us transform into a strong pillar of the lending ecosystem of the country.”

Mr. Bhavin Patel, the newly elected Treasurer of the association said, “While P2P lending is growing, customer education will be main priority for the association. Right education will help the investors to take informed decision and support the industry’s development.”

The association will also initiate honorary members from various domains to strengthen its authority in the Indian Financial Ecosystem and take P2P lending to the masses.