As I browsed http://www.go2web20.net/ yesterday startup Zopa caught my interest.
”Zopa - A Marketplace for Social Lending
People lend and borrow money with each other, sidestepping the banks. Social Lending is a financial category of genuine and increasing importance. It’s been happening on a small-scale in a families and social groups for hundreds of years and the internet has opened it up to everybody. It’s the biggest development in the world of money for decades, as people deal directly with other people, cutting out the banks.”
This is an interesting concept. It essentially echos the original intentions of those who set up Credit Unions or co-ops earlier in the 20th century. So, being that most Credit Unions are moving away from their grass roots, small community beginnings to large regional and eventually national footprints, could this be an offering that potentially takes the place of the original grass roots intension of credit unions? Or, with a lack of regulation and legislation, will this model degrade to a meeting place for “bottom feeders” – those with bad credit ratings and those trying to make a quick buck?