Is peer-to-peer lending available in Canada?

Traditional peer-to-peer lending platforms (where individual investors lend directly to individual borrowers) are largely unavailable in Canada as of 2026. Lending Loop, the best-known Canadian platform, launched Loop, a business banking platform, in 2022, and Borrowell focuses on free credit scores and product recommendations. Offering investors a return on loans falls under provincial securities law, which adds cost and complexity for a platform. Alternatives include private debt funds and mortgage investment corporations (MICs).

What happened to peer-to-peer lending in Canada?

The Canadian P2P lending market never scaled the way it did in the US or UK. Platforms selling loan investments to the public fall under provincial securities law, and Lending Loop sold them through a registered exempt market dealer. Lending Loop, which has lent to small businesses since 2015, launched Loop, a business banking platform, in 2022, and lending is no longer its main product. Borrowell offers credit monitoring and financial product recommendations. There is no large retail P2P lending platform in Canada comparable to the ones that grew in the US and UK.

What are alternatives to peer-to-peer lending in Canada for investors?

Alternatives include: high-interest savings accounts (HISAs) for low-risk income; GICs for guaranteed fixed returns; bond ETFs for market-rate fixed income; Mortgage Investment Corporations (MICs) for real estate-backed private debt (higher yield, less liquid, higher risk); private debt funds accessible through advisors; and crowdfunding platforms for equity rather than debt. Some robo-advisors offer fixed income portfolios as a middle ground.

Can you get a peer-to-peer loan in Canada?

Traditional P2P personal loans from individual investors are not widely available in Canada. Online lenders (sometimes called marketplace lenders or fintech lenders) do provide personal loans quickly online, but they use their own or institutional capital rather than individual investor funding. Examples include Fairstone, Spring Financial, and Loans Canada (a loan aggregator). These are not true P2P products but serve a similar borrower need.

Peer-to-Peer Lending in Canada: How It Works and Is It Still Available? (2026)

Peer-to-peer (P2P) lending was a fintech model of the 2010s: platforms matching individual borrowers with individual investors, cutting out traditional banks. In Canada the market developed differently than in the United States or United Kingdom, and true retail P2P lending platforms are now largely absent. This page explains how P2P lending works, what happened to the Canadian platforms, and the alternatives for lenders and borrowers. It is one of our guides to crypto and alternative investments; private debt, crowdfunding and other private-market options are covered in alternative investments in Canada.

What Is Peer-to-Peer Lending?

In a traditional P2P model:

A borrower applies on a platform and receives a credit assessment
Individual investors fund all or part of the loan
The borrower repays principal and interest over the loan term
The platform earns fees from both borrowers and investors

Investors earn interest income; borrowers access credit (sometimes at better rates than traditional lenders); the platform earns origination and servicing fees.

Why Canada Never Developed a Major P2P Lending Market

Several factors constrained P2P lending in Canada:

Securities regulation: In most Canadian provinces, offering investment returns to the public requires securities registration. Provincial securities laws are enforced independently (unlike US federal securities law). Getting approval to offer retail investors a return on loans requires navigating up to 13 provincial and territorial regulators: a significant barrier.

Concentration of banking: Canada’s six major banks dominate both lending and deposit-taking in a way that US banking markets do not, making it harder for platform lenders to compete on rates.

Market size: Canada’s population is far smaller than that of the US, which limits the scale a P2P platform can reach.

What Happened to Canadian P2P Platforms

Lending Loop (now Loop)

Lending Loop was one of the best-known Canadian P2P platforms, letting investors lend to Canadian small businesses; its website says it has lent to small businesses since 2015, and its securities arm, Loop Securities Inc., is registered as an exempt market dealer. In 2022 the same team launched Loop, a business banking platform, and lending is no longer the company’s main product.

Borrowell

Borrowell today offers free credit scores and reports, credit monitoring and financial product recommendations. It is not a marketplace where individual investors fund loans.

Alternatives to P2P Lending for Canadian Investors

For investors who wanted the interest income P2P lending promised, the options below range from insured deposits to private credit:

Alternative	Risk	Liquidity
GICs (1 to 5 years)	Very low (deposit insurance)	Low (locked in unless cashable)
High-interest savings accounts	Very low	High
Bond ETFs (aggregate)	Low to medium	High
Mortgage Investment Corporations (MICs)	Medium to high	Low
Private debt funds	Medium to high	Low
Real estate crowdfunding	Medium to high	Very low

Current GIC and savings rates are tracked in best GIC rates and best HISA rates; how the three low-risk options compare is covered in GIC vs bond ETF vs HISA.

Mortgage Investment Corporations (MICs)

MICs pool investor capital to fund residential or commercial mortgages, which can include second mortgages and loans to borrowers who do not qualify with a bank. They aim for higher yields than GICs, but MIC shares are not deposits, so they are not covered by CDIC deposit insurance; they are hard to sell and carry real credit risk if borrowers default.

ETF Alternatives for Fixed Income

For investors wanting diversified fixed income with limited credit risk, broad bond ETFs (ZAG, VAB, XBB) provide market-rate returns at very low cost. See our bond ETF Canada guide for details.

Alternatives to P2P for Canadian Borrowers

If you need a personal loan and want to compare options quickly:

Online lenders: Fairstone and Spring Financial offer personal loans online
Credit unions: Personal loans for members
Bank personal loans: Rates depend on your credit and relationship with the bank
HELOCs: If you own a home, a home equity line of credit is secured by the home, so its rate is usually lower than on unsecured loans

See our personal loans Canada guide for a full comparison.

The Future of P2P Lending in Canada

Fintech lending continues to evolve in Canada. The federal government is still implementing its consumer-driven banking (open banking) framework, and updated the plan in Budget 2025. If open banking makes it easier to share financial data and lowers barriers to entry, marketplace lending could grow again.

Key Takeaways

True retail peer-to-peer lending is not widely available in Canada due to regulatory constraints and market structure
Lending Loop shifted its focus to business banking, and Borrowell focuses on credit scores and product recommendations
Alternatives for investors seeking higher fixed income returns include MICs, private debt funds, and bond ETFs
Alternatives for borrowers include online lenders, credit unions, and bank personal loans
Provincial securities rules and a smaller market are the main obstacles to a large P2P lending market in Canada