The short answer to 'is Lendermarket safe' is that the platform is licensed and supervised, but the money you lend through it is not protected like a bank deposit. The Central Bank of Ireland authorised Lendermarket in December 2024. Your money is owed by the loan originators, each buyback depends on the originator's finances, and a late loan can take up to 240 days to be bought back. We hold a four-figure amount there ourselves.
Is Lendermarket Safe? Licensed, but Not Protected
Our answer to 'is Lendermarket safe' comes in layers: the licence is real and verifiable, but the money you lend is still at risk. Both halves are true at once.
Lendermarket Limited is an Irish company, authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland as a crowdfunding service provider since 17 December 2024. That licence governs how the platform runs: what it must disclose, how it assesses investors and how it must treat their funds. It has no say over whether a lending company can repay you.
That question always lands with a loan originator, the lending company behind each loan. Lendermarket arranges and administers your investment, but in neither of its two services is it your debtor. Several protection layers sit between you and a loss, and each one ends at a clear point:
- •Originators keep 5% to 10% of every loan themselves.
- •A late loan is bought back only after the originator's extensions plus 60 days, which adds up to 240 days on some lines.
- •Six of the 14 originators carry a group guarantee from Creditstar Group AS, a sister company of Lendermarket.
- •No deposit guarantee and no investor compensation scheme covers you.
Our own four-figure stake sits on Lendermarket as well, so every limit below applies to our money too.
New investors via our link get 1.5% cashback on net invested funds for the first 90 days after verification
The Safety Check on Video
We go through the licence, the buyback chain and the Creditstar link on camera, one layer at a time.
What the Central Bank of Ireland Licence Gives You
The licence is where Lendermarket's case holds up, so it deserves a precise reading.
The operator, Lendermarket Limited, is registered in Dublin under company number 585178. On 17 December 2024, the Central Bank of Ireland authorised it as a crowdfunding service provider under Regulation (EU) 2020/1503. You can open the entry yourself in the Central Bank's register under reference C513967, which shows no withdrawal date.
The same entry lists 26 other EU member states where Lendermarket may offer its service. That is passporting: one Irish licence covers the provider across the EU, with no separate licence per country. To invest, you must be at least 18, with a bank account in the EEA or Switzerland and tax residency in the EU or Switzerland.
As an investor, you benefit from conduct rules rather than a safety net:
- •A standardised Key Investment Information Sheet (KIIS) for regulated investments, as set out in Article 23 of the regulation.
- •An assessment of your knowledge and experience, with investment limits based on your wealth.
- •A 4-day cooling-off period for non-sophisticated investors, who can cancel an investment without penalty in that window.
- •Published audited accounts and investor funds held apart from the company's own, two requirements named in Lendermarket's 2025 annual report.
The one caveat sits in the register entry itself. It names a single service, 'the facilitation of granting of loans'. The second service, the Claims Assignment Service, operates outside the regulation, so the regulation's investor rules do not cover it. Supervision also stops at the platform: it covers how Lendermarket operates and does not turn any loan into a promise of repayment.
Every loan is labelled as regulated Crowdfunding Service or unregulated Claims Assignment Service
Regulated vs Unregulated Loans: Who Sits Where
Lendermarket runs two services side by side, and the labelling is straightforward: every loan shows which one it belongs to.
In the Crowdfunding Service, you lend to the loan originator under a Limited Recourse Loan or a Limited Purpose Loan agreement. This side is regulated. Lendermarket's how-it-works page says it provides this service and 'is authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland under Regulation (EU) 2020/1503 on European crowdfunding service providers', and the loan list above carries the same label.
In the Claims Assignment Service, you buy claims from the originator through an assignment agreement. The same page is just as direct about this side: it 'falls outside the scope of Regulation (EU) 2020/1503 and is therefore not part of the regulated crowdfunding framework'. In both services, the originator owes you the money. Lendermarket does not.
The 14 live originators split evenly, seven on each side:
- •Regulated: RapiCredit (Colombia), RapiCredit Iberica (Spain), Dineo (Spain), Gatelink (Estonia), Flowpay (Czech Republic), OK Credit (Moldova) and Best Credit (Romania).
- •Unregulated: Credifiel (Mexico) and six Creditstar lines: Creditstar Spain, Finland, Denmark, Czech, Sweden and Monefit (Estonia).
What stands out is the Creditstar pattern: every one of its lines sits on the unregulated side, outside the regulation's investor rules. One regulated originator still leads back to the group, though. Gatelink's loans carry the identifier 'Creditstar Finland', as the screenshot above shows.
In practice, the choice comes up more than once. Lendermarket asks during onboarding whether you want to invest in regulated or unregulated services, a selection you can review in your account settings at any time, and the Auto Invest setup has its own 'Service type' step.
The Protection Layers and Where Each One Ends
Five mechanisms sit between a borrower's missed payment and a loss on your side. None of them works like a guarantee in the everyday sense, and Lendermarket says so itself: 'A Buyback Guarantee is a contractual obligation of the Loan Originator and is dependent on their financial capacity.'
Only two of the five layers ever move money back to you. The buyback pays out the outstanding principal plus accrued interest once the waiting period ends. Lendermarket's platform rules describe the group guarantee as the group company paying that amount if the originator itself becomes insolvent. On this platform, only the six Creditstar lines carry one, so all six lean on the finances of a single group.
That said, the other three layers still do practical work, from putting the originator's own money into each loan to letting you compare originators by risk score. None of them pays you anything when a loan goes wrong.
What it does | Where it ends | |
|---|---|---|
| Skin in the game | The originator keeps 5% to 10% of every loan | Returns nothing to you directly |
| Buyback obligation | The originator buys back a late loan at principal plus accrued interest | Depends on the originator's finances; up to 240 days of delay first |
| Group guarantee | The group company pays if the originator becomes insolvent | Only the six Creditstar lines, all backed by one group |
| Licence (conduct rules) | Central Bank supervision, KIIS, investor checks, 4-day cooling-off | Regulated service only; no repayment promise, no compensation scheme |
| Risk score | A quarterly score for each originator | Lendermarket's own view, not a credit rating under Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 |
Tip: scroll horizontally to see all columns
How Long You Can Wait: Up to 240 Days Before a Buyback
Lendermarket's marketing compresses the buyback into one line: 'if a loan is overdue by 60 days, the loan originator repays'. The full chain is longer, and it depends on who issued the loan.
An originator may first extend a late loan. The buyback then activates 60 days after the final scheduled or extended maturity date. Lendermarket's buyback and extensions page spells out the sum: 'The maximum total number of late days is equal to Max Extensions + the Buyback Guarantee Days.'
Lendermarket's help centre ties due dates to each originator's own extension policy. Its 2025 annual report adds that, where extensions apply, the effective timing of buyback 'may be later than 60 days after the original maturity date'.
The six Creditstar lines are Spain, Finland, Denmark, Czech, Sweden and Monefit. Together with Credifiel, they can reach 240 days of delay before a buyback. The trade-off is time. A loan that waits the full 240 days and is then bought back still ends as repaid, yet your capital stayed locked for about eight months.
One thing to flag: OK Credit and Best Credit are not listed in the extension table, so their maximum waiting time is not shown there.
Max extensions | Buyback after | Max days late | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Six Creditstar lines | 180 days | 60 days | 240 days |
| Credifiel | 180 days | 60 days | 240 days |
| Dineo | 60 days | 60 days | 120 days |
| RapiCredit, Iberica | 0 days | 60 days | 60 days |
| Gatelink, Flowpay | 0 days | 60 days | 60 days |
| OK Credit, Best Credit | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
Tip: scroll horizontally to see all columns
Who Owns Lendermarket? The Creditstar Link
Lendermarket's 2025 annual report answers the ownership question directly. It names SA Financial Investments OÜ, registered in Estonia, as the parent company and ultimate parent undertaking of Lendermarket Limited. Creditstar Group's own 2025 annual report names the same company as its sole shareholder, with a 100% stake. The two are sister companies under one parent, not parent and subsidiary.
Lendermarket's report comes across as open about what that means: 'Lendermarket is part of a broader corporate structure in which Creditstar Group is also an important platform participant and group buyback undertaking provider.'
On the platform, the link has a size. Six of the 14 originators run through Creditstar Group AS, and all six sit in the unregulated service. Monefit is one of them, as a Creditstar lending line rather than the Monefit SmartSaver product. Our Lendermarket vs Monefit SmartSaver comparison covers the group link both platforms share.
Gatelink adds a seventh thread. Legally, Gatelink International OÜ stands on its own: it holds an Estonian financial-institution licence and carries no group guarantee. Lendermarket calls it 'legally and operationally separate from Creditstar Group entities'. Yet Gatelink lends to Creditstar companies, and its regulated loans carry the identifier 'Creditstar Finland'. It is legally separate but economically exposed.
The group's 2025 accounts, audited by KPMG Baltics, show a net profit of €13.5 million and equity of €85.1 million. A strong year makes trouble less likely, but it does not change the overall concentration: six originators depend on one group, and a seventh lends to it.
Beyond that, diversification needs a precise meaning here. Spreading money across the six Creditstar lines still leaves it with one group, while originators outside that group lower the group exposure. Lendermarket's risk statement points the same way, asking for capital spread 'across a number of assets and businesses'. This hidden concentration is one of the five beginner mistakes on Lendermarket we cover.
What the 0% Default Rate Does Not Tell You
Lendermarket's website puts it plainly: 'Our trusted Loan Originators have a 0% default rate.' The figure matches Lendermarket's statistics, but it answers a narrower question than it seems to.
A late loan that the originator buys back never becomes a default. It ends as repaid, even after a 240-day wait, so the 0% tells you nothing about waiting times.
The same statistics show the waiting side. In late September 2026, outstanding principal split like this:
- •89.73% current
- •2.49% 1 to 15 days late
- •4.73% 16 to 30 days late
- •2.71% 31 to 60 days late
- •0.32% in a category labelled pending payments
Put together, just over 10% of outstanding capital was behind schedule at that moment. The current portion sits below 90%, and it moves every day.
Publishing this split is transparent, and it leaves a simple way to read both numbers together. The 0% says no loan has been counted as a default. The late share says how much capital is waiting right now. You need both before judging the platform.
The 2025 Accounts: A Loss and a Going-Concern Note
The platform company itself made a loss in 2025, and its audited accounts say so openly. Lendermarket Limited reported a loss of €1,123,349, after €299,639 in 2024. Turnover grew from €1.37 million to €1.46 million, while administrative expenses rose from €1.65 million to €2.47 million. Accumulated losses reached €2,609,424 by 31 December 2025.
The auditors, Azets Audit Services Ireland Limited, found that the accounts give a true and fair view. They also added an emphasis of matter headed 'Material uncertainty related to going concern'. Note 2.2 gives the reason: continuing 'is dependent upon the Company being able to trade profitably in the future and on the ongoing financial support from group companies'.
That support is visible. In 2025, Lendermarket issued 1,537,401 new shares of €1 each, all to its parent, SA Financial Investments OÜ. The directors write that they are 'fully satisfied that the Company will be profitable into the future'.
We read this as a growth phase funded by the group. Investors funded €137.0 million through the platform in 2025, up from €68.5 million, and the report discloses the loss openly. For your money, the key point sits elsewhere: in both services, the originators owe you, not Lendermarket.
That said, the note still matters. Repayments reach your bank account through Lendermarket, so the platform's own stability counts even when every originator pays on time.
Lendermarket 1.0 and the Payment Delays of 2022 to 2024
If you searched for Lendermarket's pending payments, this is the history behind the term. Between 2022 and 2024, investors on the original platform faced payment delays. The About page sums up the period in one sentence: 'The payment delays were a difficult period, but we resolved all obligations in full with interest.'
The rebuild came in steps. Lendermarket 2.0 launched in April 2024, the licence followed in December 2024, and the old 1.0 platform closed on 31 December 2025. The current platform has therefore run for about two and a half years, with 2025 as its first full calendar year under the licence.
Trustpilot adds context rather than proof. Lendermarket scores 4.1 out of 5 there from 744 reviews, 63 of them from the last 12 months. The spread is wide: 45% of reviews are five-star and 32% are one-star. Lendermarket replies to negative reviews, but the rating cannot tell you which reviews describe the old platform and which the new one.
What Is Not Covered: Deposits, Compensation and Quick Exits
Three safety nets that savers might expect are missing here, whichever service you use.
- •No deposit guarantee. Lendermarket's Risk Disclosure Statement says your investment is not covered by the deposit guarantee schemes established under Directive 2014/49/EU.
- •No investor compensation. The same statement adds that the investor compensation schemes under Directive 97/9/EC do not cover it either.
- •No quick exit. Lendermarket does not offer a secondary market, so you cannot sell a running loan to another investor.
Auto Invest FLEX offers an early exit, but it is no substitute for a market. The risk statement says the feature 'is conditional only and does not constitute a guaranteed right to liquidity', and an exit needs replacement funding to go through. Our 10 things to know before investing in Lendermarket covers how FLEX works in practice.
None of this changes with the regulated label. A loan in the Crowdfunding Service goes without these three safety nets, just like a claim in the unregulated service.
Set the service type and originators in Auto Invest before you fund a portfolio
So, Is Lendermarket Safe Enough for You?
Lendermarket is a licensed, supervised platform that publishes its extension table, portfolio health figures and audited accounts, going-concern note included. That part holds up.
What it cannot offer is protection for your capital. Your money depends on 14 loan originators, six of them inside a group that shares a parent with the platform. A late loan can wait up to 240 days for its buyback, and no deposit guarantee or compensation scheme stands behind any of it.
The deciding factor is how long you can leave money alone. The platform suits investors who can do without the cash for months and who accept that a buyback is only as good as the company owing it. It does not suit money you might need next month. Lendermarket sets its own ceiling in its risk statement: 'This is not a savings product and we advise you not to invest more than 10% of your net worth in crowdfunding projects.' Our view here is an assessment of the platform, not personal financial advice.
We hold a four-figure amount on Lendermarket. We started smaller, our experience so far has been positive, and we plan to expand step by step. Our full Lendermarket review has the complete verdict.
New investors who register through our link get 1.5% cashback on their net invested funds for the first 90 days after verification, credited within five business days after that period. Our guide to the Lendermarket cashback explains the terms.
1.5% cashback on your net invested funds in the first 90 days, for new investors via our link
Frequently asked questions
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