Zopa’s New Anti-Fraud Measures
Zopa, the P2P lending company focusing on consumer loans, is now using the same system as international passport control to check for borrowing fraud automatically in seconds, according to its new support partner.
Through its partner AU10TIX, Zopa can now check scanned copies of passports more quickly and effectively, and can better identify poorer-quality photos. This and its other products “drastically reduce document-based fraud” according to Au10TIX.
The process is also much faster, which has an impact on borrowers who complete the deal. More borrowers means a bigger market and higher interest rates for lenders, although the impact on rates of this one change might prove imperceptible.
Who watches the watchman?
In addition to using standard fraud database checks and passport checks against the UK Border Agency database, peer-to-peer lending companies are being creative and innovative in their checks on borrowers.
Like Zopa, LendInvest, a property P2P loans company, also does passport photo analytics and offers lenders some of the most comprehensive fraud protections available, including geo-location searches on individuals (to establish they are where they say they are) and insurance against fraud.
LendInvest also requires its borrowers to have a solicitor and to meet the solicitor in person. Just like in the phrase “Who watches the watchmen?” LendInvest then does checks on borrowers' solicitors to verify them too.
Other checks that P2P lending companies can do on a routine basis include court registry searches, Land Registry checks, HM Revenue & Customs checks, and checks at Companies House (the official register of UK businesses).
Sources: AU10TIX; LendInvest
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