Peer-to-Peer Lending Company, Prosper.com, Welcomes Lenders in Florida

Prosper.com, one of the first companies to successfully develop a peer-to-peer lending marketplace in the United States, has announced today that they will now allow lenders from the state of Florida to participate in their site.

Peer to Peer lending sites such as Prosper and Lending Club have unique laws when it comes to collections and lending, so these companies need to make sure they meet all of the regulatory requirements in each state that they do business.

Currently, Prosper only allows lenders in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming to participate. However, the company hopes to change that soon. According to a recent release, “Prosper is in the process of working with every state to allow lending; however each state has their own process and ultimately Prosper does not control the timeline involved to get approval.”

Prosper.com’s younger brother, Lending Club allows lenders from the following states to participate in their peer to peer lending service: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, Nevada, New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

You will notice that there’s significant overlap between the states that each company lends with. Peer to peer lending companies tend to target states with the most favorable regulatory environment first and then move to states where the regulations are less favorable and more complex.

If you are in a state that’s not serviced by either Prosper or Lending Club, you probably shouldn’t hold your breath and wait for one of these two companies to start doing business in your state. Each state take a substantial amount of time to start doing business in, and it’s likely that there are some states that will never be served by any of the big peer-to-peer lending companies.