The new year has brought big changes for online innovators Harmoney and PledgeMe, which announced major moves today.
Lending start-up Harmoney said it is quitting the peer-to-peer lending market, and will stop taking retail lending applications from today, and halt all retail investment at the end of March. Instead, the money will come from the wholesale market.
Harmoney was the first in New Zealand to obtain a peer-to-peer licence and says leaving that market was a decision it had made over time.
"While a move we make reluctantly, it is necessary to free up resources so that Harmoney can continue to innovate, enhance value and create a better user experience for borrowers.
"Harmoney was established to create better opportunities for Kiwis – and then Australians. Our aim was always to bring much better choice for consumers, along with unprecedented transparency to the financial services industry," chief executive David Stevens said.