Peer-to-Peer Lending: Prosper.com Moves into Consumer Financing with Zero Motorcycles Partnership

P2p lending Firm, Prosper.com, is looking to generate revenue by targeting on consumers that are environmentally friendly by partnering with Zero, an electric motorcycle manufacturer, to offer a peer-to-peer lending-based financing option for motorcycle buyers.

When a buyer makes a purchase from Zero Motorcycles, customers can opt to create a listing on Prosper.com to finance the $8995 lithium-ion powered bike with resulting payments of about $300 per month and a down payment of about $1000.

The company is billing the service as “the first fully integrated peer-to-peer lending retail purchase financing solution in history”.

Chris Larsen, Prosper.com’s Co-Founder and CEO, commented in a statement, “By working together to provide an innovative financing solution for Zero’s customers, we’re empowering people to make a tangible, positive environmental and economic impact at every level of the transaction.”

Larsen says that to place an order with Zero Motorcycles and filling out the loan application takes less than fifteen minutes. The loan can also include upgrades, accessories and apparel.

As part of the buying process, the buyer sets the maximum financing rate that they are willing to pay and lenders bidding through the Prosper Marketplace can bit at that rate or below, providing an opportunity to bid the rate down.

Prosper.com states that it manages all of the ongoing administrative tasks of handling the loan repayment, and collections on behalf of connected borrowers and sellers. However, Prosper.com has previously been criticized for not doing enough to collect delinquent loans.

To learn more about the Prosper Marketplace, visit Prosper.com