ViaInvest Review: let’s check out an up and coming peer to peer lending website in Europe and analyze its functionalities in this post below

Are you looking for a reliable peer to peer website to invest? In our ViaInvest review we will understand why this peer to peer platform is one of the fastest growing in the European P2P market.

ViaInvest overview: What is ViaInvest?

An up and coming peer-to-peer lending marketplace, ViaInvest was founded in 2016 and boasts over 12,000 investors from more than 32 countries, and over 130M Euros funded through the platform.

The company is based in Riga, Latvia. It is owned and operated by the VIA SMS Group, an active player in the alternative loans market. The VIA SMS Group has a presence in four countries, and a staff of over 200 across the world. It provides access to the non-banking lending sector for ordinary investors.

ViaInvest typically issues loans to consumers in Sweden, Spain, Latvia, Romania, Czech Republic, and Poland. They have their loan originators, with most of the loans originating in Poland and Latvia.

If you’re a beginner, or an experienced professional looking for a place to invest your money, this in-depth ViaInvest review analyzes why it might be an excellent alternative for you in the European P2P lending landscape.

How to Open an Account on ViaInvest

You need a valid account to start putting your cash to work on ViaInvest. Luckily, signup is a breeze. Fill out your basic information (name, address, email, DOB, etc.), submit a passport or ID for verification, and you’re set. You don’t need to supply other documents until you need to make a withdrawal.

Account funding and withdrawals work just as fast, taking only one day, in most cases, to process.

Click here to open an account with ViaInvest

The information you provide is matched with your details when you make a money transfer. Make sure you only make transfers from your account. When the information matches, your account is activated, and you can begin investing.

How to invest in ViaInvest

As with most other P2P lending platforms, making your first investment on ViaInvest is a simple, straightforward process.

• Step 1: Set up your account by filling out the signup form and submitting ID/passport
• Step 2: Deposit or fund your account through a bank transfer(SEPA) to activate account.

Once the funds clear and reflect in your account, it becomes active, and you’re ready to start investing.

• Step 3: Select a loan that fits your criteria from the loan list. You can also use the Auto invest feature on the platform. The minimum investment on any one loan is 10 Euro.

Types of Investments Available at ViaInvest

ViaInvest offers three types of loans to investors. The most common, and accessible, is the short-term loan (30 days). The loan types are as follows:

Short-term loans – Typically 30 days or less. The buyback guarantee kicks in after 30 days if the loan defaults.

Installment loans – Ranging from 3 -12 months with a set of monthly payments until the loan clears.

Credit line loans – Combination of short-term and installment loans. This loan type gives the borrower an option to repay the loan in full after 30 days, or make monthly payments until the loan clears. The interest varies on these loans.

There is always a long list of existing loans to invest in on ViaInvest. However, the platform only has a primary market, with no secondary market to sell investments if you want to.

However, most loans mature in 30 days or less eliminating the need to sell. In the loan list, you can filter based on the loan type, originator, amount, along with other information to help you mitigate risk.

ViaInvest Auto Invest Tool

The Auto-Invest tool on ViaInvest is intuitive and easy to use, even for beginners. It gives you the ability to define loan criteria, vendor characteristics, loan term, and also choose whether to reinvest the profits.

Using the Auto-Invest feature beats the tedious and challenging manual investing process, and saves you some time. This is especially true since there isn’t much difference in the loans you can invest in with ViaInvest.

How Much Can You Earn on ViaInvest

As of June 2019, all ViaInvest loans attract an interest of only 11%. We consider the rate very stable and a reason to invest.

Internal and withholding tax eats into the profits further lowering your earnings. 

A rate of 11% – 12% is pretty standard across the P2P lending space. Compared to other platforms, it’s still pretty basic. However, having the backing, and “skin in the game” participation of an active industry player, VIA SMS Group, significantly reduces investment risk.

Who Can Invest in ViaInvest?

You must be at least 18 years old to register as an investor on the platform. You should also be in a position to accept money transfers from banks in Europe, or some Scandinavian countries like Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, etc. ViaInvest is currently only open and available to European and Swiss individuals and corporate investors.

ViaInvest Pros

• User and beginner-friendly website
• Backed by an active industry player
• Uniform interest rates reducing loan decision time
• Pre-funded loans with a buyback guarantee that kicks in after 30 days
• Simple to use, intuitive auto-invest feature
• Good loan liquidity

ViaInvest Cons

• Internal tax and withholding mechanisms that reduce investment performance
• Low-interest rates and return than competitors
• Missing critical features like loan status

ViaInvest Review: Verdict

ViaInvest is a robust platform to invest your money. It has a beginner-friendly, easy-to-use platform and backed by a healthy and active industry-player with significant active participation in the platform  (5% investment in all loans). The Buyback guarantee ensures the safety of your invested funds in case of default.

The significant downsides, in our opinion, is the flat rate (11%), which, while the standard for most P2P platforms, puts a limit on your investment profits. The internal/tax withholding is vexing and eats into your profits. In its basic implementation, ViaInvest pays a withholding tax on your crowdlending income in Estonia.

You can bypass that requirement by sending a copy of your Tax Certificate before making any investment. Your investment gains accrue tax under the legislation of the loan origin country.

ViaInvest is a legitimate platform with a promising future. While the internal tax and withholding is complicated for most investors, we still feel strongly about the company and the investment options on offer. Additionally, customer support is helpful and answers questions professionally.

Check ViaInvest on social media: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn.

Other Peer to Peer Lending Resources

If you are considering investing in peer to peer platforms? You may want to check some of our other guides and reviews on this topic. There are many peer to peer lending and investing platforms currently available, and you can diversify your interest income by using several of them simultaneously. Check our post on the best peer 2 peer lending platforms in Europe, and the best real estate crowdfunding platforms in Europe.

Are you already investing in ViaInvest or in any other peer to peer lending platform? Leave your thoughts and questions about this ViaInvest review below.