<Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> Peer - to - peer lending, also abbreviated as P2P lending, is the practice of lending money to individuals or businesses through online services that match lenders with borrowers . Since peer - to - peer lending companies offering these services generally operate online, they can run with lower overhead and provide the service more cheaply than traditional financial institutions . As a result, lenders can earn higher returns compared to savings and investment products offered by banks, while borrowers can borrow money at lower interest rates, even after the P2P lending company has taken a fee for providing the match - making platform and credit checking the borrower . There is the risk of the borrower defaulting on the loans taken out from peer - lending websites . </P> <P> Also known as crowdlending, many peer - to - peer loans are unsecured personal loans, though some of the largest amounts are lent to businesses . Secured loans are sometimes offered by using luxury assets such as jewelry, watches, vintage cars, fine art, buildings, aircraft and other business assets as collateral . They are made to an individual, company or charity . Other forms of peer - to - peer lending include student loans, commercial and real estate loans, payday loans, as well as secured business loans, leasing, and factoring . </P>

What is peer to peer lending in india