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. The major Canadian P2P platforms — Lending Loop (now Driven Financial) and Borrowell — have either pivoted or exited the direct lending market. Regulatory constraints under provincial securities law make it difficult to operate true retail P2P lending in Canada. 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. Regulatory hurdles under provincial securities legislation required platforms to register as dealers, limiting who could participate. Lending Loop briefly operated a business lending platform before pivoting. Borrowell transitioned to credit monitoring and financial product recommendations rather than direct lending. As of 2025-26, there is no major retail P2P lending platform operating in Canada in the traditional sense.

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 global fintech phenomenon 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 as of 2026, true retail P2P lending platforms are largely absent from the Canadian market.

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 roughly one-tenth of the US, limiting the scale needed for a viable P2P platform.

Credit bureau access: Lenders need access to credit bureau data to assess borrowers — restrictions on this access added friction for new entrants.

What Happened to Canadian P2P Platforms

Lending Loop (now Driven Financial)

Lending Loop was Canada’s most prominent P2P lending platform, focused on small business loans. It launched in 2016 and allowed accredited investors to lend to Canadian small businesses. The platform faced regulatory hurdles and eventually pivoted away from the classic P2P model.

Borrowell

Borrowell originally offered personal loans in a P2P-adjacent model, but pivoted to become a credit monitoring platform and financial product marketplace — not a lending platform.

Grouplend / Lendified

Other early P2P-adjacent platforms either shut down or pivoted to institutional funding models rather than retail investor participation.

Alternatives to P2P Lending for Canadian Investors

If you are looking for fixed income returns similar to what P2P lending promised (4%–10%+ annual returns), consider:

Alternative	Expected Return	Risk	Liquidity
GICs (1–5 year)	3.5%–4.5%	Very low (insured)	Low (locked in)
HISAs (high-interest savings)	3%–4.5%	Very low	High
Bond ETFs (aggregate)	3%–5% total	Low–medium	High
Mortgage Investment Corporations (MICs)	6%–10%	Medium–high	Low
Private debt funds	5%–9%	Medium–high	Low
Real estate crowdfunding	Varies widely	Medium–high	Very low

Mortgage Investment Corporations (MICs)

MICs pool investor capital to fund residential or commercial mortgages, typically second mortgages or those that do not qualify for prime lending. They are available through advisors and some online platforms. Returns are higher than GICs but MICs are not CDIC-insured, not liquid, and carry real credit risk if borrowers default.

ETF Alternatives for Fixed Income

For investors wanting diversified fixed income without 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, Spring Financial, and easyfinancial offer personal loans online — often in hours
Credit unions: Often offer competitive rates for members, with more flexible underwriting than big banks
Bank personal loans: Lower rates for existing customers with strong credit
HELOCs: If you own a home, a home equity line of credit typically offers the lowest unsecured borrowing rates

See our personal loans Canada guide for a full comparison.

The Future of P2P Lending in Canada

Fintech lending continues to evolve in Canada, with Open Banking regulations being developed federally. If open banking allows easier data sharing and lowers barriers to entry, marketplace lending could re-emerge. However, as of 2026, there is no sign of a major retail P2P lending revival in Canada.

Key Takeaways

True retail peer-to-peer lending is not widely available in Canada due to regulatory constraints and market structure
The major Canadian P2P platforms (Lending Loop, Borrowell) have pivoted away from the direct lending model
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
Canada’s regulatory environment makes it unlikely a full-scale P2P lending market will emerge without specific legislative changes