Decent Work and Economic Growth

Harnessing the Power of the Crowd - for Lending

Peer-to-peer lending, or crowdlending, has taken off in Israel. This relatively new phenomenon allows individuals and small businesses to secure loans which are financed by other persons and companies, usually unrelated third parties. All this, without going through traditional intermediaries such as banks, credit card companies or other non-banking financing entities. A fundamental component of the peer-to-peer lending field is the use of the Internet as a meeting place for borrowers and lenders.

A leader in the Israeli fintech industry, Blender is forging the path of peer-to-peer lending in Israel. Blender cofounder and CEO Dr. Gal Aviv has developed a system using big data technology to develop profiles of potential customers based on their Internet and social networks patterns of behavior. This enables Blender to assess whether or not they would assume responsibility in returning loans. According to Aviv, the failure rate on the platform has been only 1% over four years of activity. Ultimately this allows Blender to grant same-day loans.

Tarya is yet another significant force in the world of crowdlending in Israel is Tarya. The name “Tarya” is from the ancient Aramaic – part of a Talmudic term that means to deliberate and discuss a topic or problem in order to understand it from every aspect, and to try to find a solution that will benefit all those involved. Co-founders Eyal Elhayany, Assaf Shlush, Varda Lusthaus and their team chose the name Tarya to convey the idea of compassion and mutual responsibility. Gleaning technologies from the intelligence and security industries, Tarya assimilates these technologies into the financial world for the first time.

Not to be undercut, BTB, the Bank of Israel, has also employed new technologies to grant loans to new customers. CEOs and founders Shlomi Turgeman and Alon Katz have developed a system which displays data in a clear and innovative fashion to lenders, simultaneously allowing coherent and timely updates for its customers.