<prompt> Human: I just came across and article about a company in the UK called Zopa that essentially allows you to borrow or lend money peer-to-peer, with lower interest rates than a bank would typically give you. Has anyone heard of this or tried it? Any reason not to? If someone had a fair amount of disposable income that they could make a profit off of doing this, is there a reason they shouldnt?  <response>: This is similar to Lending Club or Prosper in the US. Ive done it before, for a limited time couple years. I was getting decent returns, around 12, but then I needed to cash out quickly so I had to sell them at a discount, so my overall profit wasnt as high. Similar to what you describe, you could buy small chunks of each loan. I had about 60, and only 5 of them defaulted. With the high interest on the others, however, I still made money overall.Its okay if you plan on leaving it in long term, or you have the patience to sell them at full value. Not good if you need liquid . 