Peer to Peer Lending in Australia: Borrower Guide

Peer to peer lending in Australia lets borrowers seek a loan through an online marketplace funded by investors. P2P means peer-to-peer in this guide. A platform’s name alone doesn’t identify the legal lender, its assessment rules or the cost your client will pay.

Plenti is a current Australian example with a personal-loan borrower route and accredited broker distribution. Assess the particular loan contract against a conventional personal loan on the same client facts. Investor matching doesn’t guarantee approval, and an online rate estimate doesn’t remove credit checks.

How the Borrower Receives the Loan

The borrower applies through the platform, receives a credit decision and accepts a contract with the named credit provider before funds are advanced. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) calls this broader category marketplace lending. Its marketplace-lending guidance explains that a custodian can be the lender on record.

Plenti’s compliance information, as at October 2026, describes the Plenti Lending Platform as a registered managed investment scheme. Plenti RE Limited manages the platform, while its custodian holds investor funds and is the legal lender for loans made through that platform. Your client doesn’t negotiate separate repayment promises with each investor.

Plenti’s personal-loan disclosure names two possible credit providers: Plenti Finance Pty Limited or Perpetual Corporate Trust Limited as custodian. The actual contract identifies which entity provides your client’s loan. A loan distributed under the Plenti brand therefore doesn’t establish that every loan uses the same funding arrangement.

Separate Personal Borrowing From Business Borrowing

Identify the borrower and actual use of the money before selecting the credit assessment route. Consumer marketplace loans for personal, domestic or household purposes fall under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 and National Credit Code. ASIC distinguishes these from business-purpose loans outside that consumer-credit framework.

Plenti’s personal-loan Target Market Determination (TMD) describes personal purposes such as debt consolidation, home improvement and weddings. A TMD describes the consumers a product is designed for. An investor product on the same website is a separate transaction, and a business funding request needs the appropriate product and purpose classification.

For example, replacing a client’s household credit-card debt is a personal borrowing scenario. Buying equipment for their trading business needs a business-purpose assessment. Record the real use of funds even if the applicant trades as a sole trader.

Check Eligibility and Credit Assessment

Plenti’s published personal-loan eligibility, as at October 2026, requires a good credit history and verifiable regular income above $25,000 a year. Its borrower page also requires Australian citizenship or permanent residency and a minimum age of 18. These are Plenti’s checks, not eligibility rules for every peer-to-peer platform.

The current-linked TMD, dated 11 November 2024, also requires identity verification, an Australian bank account and valid email and mobile details. It describes borrowers who can repay without substantial hardship. Meeting the income threshold alone doesn’t establish affordability after living expenses and other debts.

Match Amount, Purpose and Term to the Channel

Plenti advertises unsecured personal loans up to $75,000. Its TMD describes credit from $2,001 through broker partners, with other channels typically starting at $5,000. Those channel differences matter for a small request, so use the product available through your accredited route.

The TMD describes terms typically from six months to seven years and fixed or variable rates. Plenti’s public marketing also lists one-to-seven-year terms. Use the term available in the client’s quote, because the wider product description doesn’t mean every amount qualifies for every term.

Collect identification and evidence of income before the full application. Plenti’s borrower page lists bank statements and tax returns for self-employed income. The credit assessment also needs the client’s expenses and liabilities, so reconcile existing loan repayments against their statements.

A Soft Quote Is Still a Credit Check

Plenti’s broker submission guide says its rate estimate uses a soft credit check that doesn’t affect the client’s credit score. Its application help page says a full application submits a credit enquiry and requests the client’s Equifax credit file. That enquiry can affect the score.

A no-credit-check description therefore doesn’t fit Plenti’s documented process. A bad-credit description also conflicts with its good-credit eligibility and TMD warning that poor credit history can make the product unsuitable. Don’t submit repeated applications hoping investor demand will override those rules.

For a client whose credit report has an error, resolve the error before choosing a route. For a claim that a private loan avoids checks, use the guide to private loans advertised without credit checks.

Compare the Borrower’s Cost and Obligations

Compare the client’s offered rate and total repayments over the same amount and term, including every fee the client pays. Plenti’s published rates dated 9 September 2026 range from 5.95% to 24.09% per year. Its lowest rate assumes exceptional credit history, so it isn’t a rate promised to every eligible client.

National Australia Bank (NAB) provides a conventional unsecured personal-loan comparison. As at October 2026, NAB publishes fixed and variable rates from 7.50% to 22.00% per year. NAB personalises the rate using the applicant’s financial information, credit history and banking history.

The two lowest advertised rates don’t establish which loan is cheaper for your client. Each lender must assess the same borrower facts, and the final rate and fees belong in the loan documents. Broader lender selection is covered in the personal-loan lender guide.

Cost or obligation	Plenti personal loan	NAB unsecured personal loan
Rate used for the decision	Client’s personalised fixed or variable rate	Client’s personalised fixed or variable rate
Upfront cost	TMD says an application fee is generally payable; use the quoted amount and any broker fee	Published $250 application fee, plus any separate broker fee
Ongoing fee	TMD states no ongoing monthly fee	Published $15 monthly service fee
Repayment schedule	Monthly repayments; account schedule states amounts and dates	Weekly, fortnightly or monthly options
Extra payments and early payout	Consumer loans have no additional repayment or early termination fee	No early repayment or exit fee
Total cost	Scheduled payments plus upfront and separately paid charges	Scheduled payments including service fees, plus upfront and separate charges

All dollar amounts here are Australian dollars. Treat an upfront fee paid separately differently from a fee added to the loan balance. A financed fee attracts interest and changes the repayments.

Plenti’s repayment help directs borrowers to the amounts and dates in their account schedule. Its consumer-loan early-payment policy allows extra payments or full early repayment without an extra fee. Compare that flexibility with the client’s expected cash flow, including a planned lump sum.

Worked Example: The Same Borrower and Term

This hypothetical calculation compares $30,000 for household renovations over 60 monthly repayments. Assume both loans have a fixed 10% annual interest rate. Assume Plenti’s upfront fee is $300 for this example, paid separately, with no broker fee on either loan.

The Plenti fee and both interest rates are illustrative assumptions, not customer quotes. Use NAB’s published $250 application fee and $15 monthly service fee. Assume every payment is on time and neither loan is repaid early.

Calculation	Illustrative Plenti loan	Illustrative NAB loan
Net borrowing	$30,000	$30,000
Monthly principal and interest, approximately	$637.41	$637.41
Monthly service fee	$0	$15
Monthly outflow, approximately	$637.41	$652.41
Upfront fee paid separately	$300	$250
Total paid over five years, approximately	$38,544.68	$39,394.68

The calculation uses monthly amortisation and unrounded repayments for the totals. Actual daily-interest contracts and payment dates can produce different figures. At equal assumed rates, the illustrative Plenti loan costs $850 less because of the fee difference.

If NAB instead approves a fixed 8% rate on the same assumptions, its approximate total falls to $37,647.51 including those fees. That is below the illustrative Plenti total. A marketplace label doesn’t decide the result, and a longer term can reduce monthly outflow while increasing total interest.

Verify the Provider and Broker Route

Match the provider named in the credit contract to its credit licence, then use a broker route you are authorised to access. Plenti’s current disclosures, as at October 2026, identify the following entities and licence numbers.

Entity	Disclosed role	Australian credit licence
Plenti Finance Pty Limited	Possible personal-loan credit provider	569622
Perpetual Corporate Trust Limited	Possible credit provider as platform custodian	392673
Plenti RE Limited	Platform management and credit assistance	449176

ASIC’s consumer-credit guidance directs borrowers to its Professional Registers Search. For the client file, match the contract’s legal name and licence number to the credit-licensee record. A financial-services licence for an investment platform is a different authorisation from a credit licence.

Keep the credit guide with the file. It identifies the credit business and its licence details, with its contact information and complaints arrangements. Where a representative gives credit assistance, record the authorising licensee and the representative arrangement as well.

Brokers Can Submit Through Plenti’s Accredited Route

Plenti’s TMD requires broker partners to be appropriately licensed for personal-loan credit assistance. They must complete accreditation and enter an agreement with Plenti before distributing its personal loans. A referral relationship alone doesn’t authorise you to submit an application as an accredited broker.

Plenti’s public broker guide gives this application sequence.

1. Open the broker portal and choose Personal Loan under New Application. Select Apply on behalf of your client.
2. Enter the client’s basic identity and contact details for the soft-check rate estimate.
3. Select the amount and term. Complete income, expenses and liabilities, then upload identification, income evidence and supporting liability statements.
4. Submit the completed application. The client reviews and accepts an approved offer before drawdown.

Plenti lists payslips or bank statements as income evidence in that guide. Keep your client authority and the evidence supporting each declared commitment with your records. Confirm any separate credit-assistance fee in your disclosures and include it in the comparison.

For a particular income type or adverse credit event outside the published criteria, Plenti’s broker support can address the scenario. Its published contact is 1300 889 332 or brokers@plenti.com.au. A response about that file doesn’t change the public good-credit requirement for other applicants.

Decide When the Route Fits

A platform personal loan fits when its actual product accepts the client and its repayments meet the borrowing need at an affordable total cost. Plenti’s TMD, dated 11 November 2024 and linked from its current site, helps distinguish likely fit from an unsuitable route.

Consider these hypothetical client situations.

• A client with regular verified income and good credit needs $30,000 for renovations. Plenti is a candidate for a same-term unsecured comparison if the quote fits the client’s budget.
• A client expects a later lump sum. Plenti’s consumer early-payment terms can fit that plan, but NAB also permits early repayment without an exit fee.
• A client has poor credit history or can’t meet repayments after living costs. Plenti’s TMD identifies those concerns, so investor funding doesn’t make the product suitable.
• A client wants in-person branch service or won’t repay by direct debit. The TMD identifies these preferences as reasons Plenti’s product might be unsuitable.
• A business owner wants equipment funding. Separate that purpose from a household loan and assess the appropriate business product before discussing a personal-loan quote.

A borrower app doesn’t determine the product’s suitability either. Plenti’s official app listing promotes investor account functions, while its borrower route includes an online application and borrower portal. Choose the borrowing route by the loan terms, even when a client asks for the best peer-to-peer lending app.

Before discussing a specific option, record the purpose, borrower eligibility and evidence of repayment capacity. Add the legal provider and licence match, your distribution authority, the offered terms and the same-borrower cost comparison. Record any unresolved client-specific policy condition and the answer needed before submission.

Your file is ready when the client can explain the payment schedule, every quoted charge appears in the cost comparison and the chosen route meets their stated need. Keep the reason for that choice beside the alternative, including when the conventional loan costs less.