Zopa- Social Networking Finance
by Jenny Ambrozek
I first heard about Zopa in a CNBC interview so paid close attention to the IDC white paper describing Zopa’s use of Quickbase, for improving “project management and scheduling processes across its global operation.” Intuit Quickbase is our valued TheAppGap sponsor.
What is Zopa?
Their web site explains:
“Zopa is the world’s first social finance company. In 2005 we pioneered a way for people to lend and borrow directly with each other online as part of our continuing mission to give people around the world the power to help themselves financially at the same time that they help others. “
Zopa’s UK site describes their innovative business model, as “social lending”:
”..where people lend and borrow money with each other, sidestepping the banks. And the more you think about it, the more it makes sense.”
Zopa also operates in Italy and Japan,and until recently in the US. According to their October 9 blog announcement:
“ You probably know that Zopa’s US operation has a very different model to that in the UK and Italy in that it works in partnership with financial institutions (the credit unions) rather than being a pure peer to peer marketplace as it is here and in Italy. So while our model is doing very well in current market conditions, the US has been adversely affected in a way that just couldn’t have been predicted when we launched int he US and is no way the fault of our partners. For us, a real shame is that we weren’t able to launch the original model over there for regulatory reasons.
So, sadly, our US colleagues have decided to withdraw from the US marketplace.”
How interesting is it that in a world of financial turmoil to which lack of regulatory oversight contributed, “regulatory reasons” restricted Zopa’s innovative “peer-to-peer” lending model being implemented in the US?
No doubt Zopa’s experience reminds us that while emerging technologies, in this case social networking, enable innovation and new business models, complex factors (including existing regulatory frameworks), impact adoption.
