An Innovative Finance ISA, sometimes referred to as an IFISA, is an ISA that contains peer-to-peer loans instead of cash or stocks and shares. It matches investors, who are willing to lend, with borrowers, who could be individuals, businesses, or property developers.
Please note companies are ranked in no particular order and data comes from each company’s website and was last updated in March 2023.
COMPANY | MINIMUM INVESTMENT |
---|---|
Abundance | £5 |
Archover | not stated |
Assetz | £1 |
British Pearl | not stated |
Crowd2Fund | not stated |
Crowd for Angels | not stated |
Crowd Property | not stated |
Crowdstacker | £100 |
Fitzrovia Finance | £100 |
Folk2Folk | not stated |
Formax Credit | £100 |
Fund Ourselves | £1,000 |
Goji | not stated |
Hartleys Pensions | not stated |
HNW Lending | not stated |
Invest and Fund | £500 |
Landlord Invest | not stated |
Lending Works | £100 |
Loanpad | £10 |
Marshall Sterling | not stated |
Proplend | not stated |
Rebuildingsociety.com | £10 |
Relendex | £500 |
Share Credit | £10 |
Shojin | not stated |
Tifosy | not stated |
Zopa | £1,000 |
Topics
1. Abundance
- A market-leading ethical finance company
- Innovative Finance ISAs available only
- Large choice of green and social investment opportunities
- Create a portfolio across multiple sectors and investment life stages
- £110million invested thus far with 45 ethical projects funded
- Minimum investment amount is just £5
- A clear, easy to understand website
- Fast easy online setup
- Some decent online reviews
- Award-winning: Ethical Consumer Best Buy
- Online free signup
Website: Abundance
Read the full Abundance review.
2. Archover Business Lending
- Based in London, ArchOver Business Lending is a member of the Hampden Group, a leading provider of financial and business support services
- Manages insurance assets with an underwriting capacity in excess of £2bn
- Innovative Finance ISAs available only
- No fees
- Easy to transfer-in
- Loans have passed thorough credit analysis and are monitored monthly throughout the term
- ArchOver’s Investment Plan lets you invest into a portfolio of loans and at a lower threshold
- Choose between investing on a loan-by-loan or automated basis
- An easy-to-navigate, plain English website with clear information
- A professional, highly-regarded investment platform
- Excellent customer reviews
- Fast easy online setup
Website: Archover
Read the full Archover review.
3. Assetz Capital
- Assetz Capital was launched in 2013 with the aim of inspiring improvements to the financial system
- Innovative Finance ISAs available only
- Quick Access, 30 Day Access and 90 Day Access IFISA options
- 14 day cooling down period
- Easy ISA transfer
- Defaqto 5 Star Rating
- Award-winning: Product Innovation of the Year
- Good customer reviews
- A straight-forward, easy to understand website with clear information
- Fast easy online setup
- Also offers peer-to-peer lending, commercial mortgages, SME loans, bridge loans, and other related financial services
Website: Assetz Capital
Read the full Assetz Capital review.
4. British Pearl
- Based in London, British Pearl is an online property investment platform
- Stocks and Share ISAs and Innovative Finance ISAs available only
- Diverse investment opportunities across any number of properties which vary in type, location and risk profile
- Manage your ISA with an easy-to-use dashboard
- No day to day management fees or additional charges
- Transfer funds from existing ISAs for free
- Early exit options with a Resale Market
- 3 – 5 year investment terms
- Clear, transparent information
- A functional, easy-to-understand website
- Fast easy online setup
- Good customer reviews
Website: British Pearl
Read the full British Pearl review.
5. Crowd for Angels
- Based in London and established in 2014, Crowd for Angels is a UK crowdfunding platform
- Innovative Finance ISAs available only
- ISA is free to open
- No fees for investing in Crowd Bonds and there are no annual management fees
- Takes less than 5 minutes to process an application
- Available online 24 hours a day
- A choice of UK companies to lend to
- Crowdfunding opportunities include shares, crowd bonds and digitalised securities
- Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
- Fast easy online setup
- A clear, easy to understand website
- Excellent customer reviews
Website: Crowd For Angels
Read the full Crowd For Angels review.
6. Crowd Property
- Based in Birmingham, Crowd Property is a founding member and only specialist property platform in the Innovate Finance 36H Group
- Innovative Finance ISAs available only
- Auto Invest tool for quick easy online investing
- No platform administration fees
- No financial advisor fees
- Excellent customer reviews
- Live webinars to advise on newly launched projects
- Useful online help resources also include podcasts, guides and more
- A clear, easy to understand website
- A reliable crowd funding platform
- Fast easy online setup
Website: Crowd Property
Read the full Crowd Property review.
7. Crowd2Fund
- Based in London, Crowd2Fund is an investment platform for private businesses and investors
- Innovative Finance ISAs available only
- Supports investment in British businesses
- Passionate about entrepreneurship
- Access to funds at competitive rates
- Earn 6% to 15% APR
- Quickly build a diversified and balanced portfolio
- Easy-to-use funding platform which is simple to navigate and understand
- Fast easy online setup
- Excellent customer reviews and recommendation
Website: Crowd2Fund
Read the full Crowd2Fund review.
8. Crowdstacker
- Established in 2014, St. Albans, Crowdstacker is an FCA regulated peer-to-peer lending platform
- Innovative Finance ISAs available only
- No investor fees
- Easy ISA transfers
- Receive interest quarterly or annually direct to your account
- Withdraw interest as cash or reinvest your interest in new investments
- Helpful articles, knowledge hub and online tools
- Online access 24/7 to monitor and manage your money
- Fast: it only takes 5 minutes to open an account online
- Choose exactly which businesses to lend to from those available on the platform
- Award-winning: Best Innovative ISA Provider, Best Peer-to-Peer Lending Platform
- Good customer reviews and recommendations
Website: Crowdstacker
Read the full Crowdstacker review.
9. Fitzrovia Finance
- A specialized property lending marketplace
- An established lender in development, investment and bridge loans
- Innovative Finance ISAs available only
- A Seven Step risk control process to minimise risk
- Excellent return of 5.5% p.a. on your investment
- An experienced investment management team
- The company only finances or lends to developers that can secure their borrowing with real estate
- Large investment portfolio to choose from
- Fast easy online setup – three quick easy steps to get started
Website: Fitzrovia Finance
Read the full Fitzrovia Finance review.
10. Folk2Folk
- Peer-to-peer lending for local businesses across Cornwall, Devon, Three Counties and Midlands, and Rutland
- Helps create and sustain financially and socially successful local communities
- Innovative Finance ISAs available only
- Tax-free interest of up to 4.5%-9% p.a.
- No IFSA fees
- Transfers-in allowed
- A clear, straightforward website, easy to get started
- Fast easy online setup
- A professional yet personal customer service
Website: Folk2Folk
Read the full Folk2Folk review.
11. Formax Credit
- Established in 2013, a leading global provider of state of the art, diversified, and professional financial services
- A regulated Peer-to-Peer platform
- Innovative Finance ISAs available only
- Qualified individuals and organisations can lend money to small and medium sized UK businesses
- Fully authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
- Fast easy online setup
Website: Formax Credit
Read the full Formax Credit review.
12. Fund Ourselves
- Located in London and Woking, Fund Ourselves is a mission-driven FinTech marketplace
- Innovative Finance ISAs available only
- Earn up to 15% p.a. tax-free interest on your short to medium term peer-to-peer investment
- No fees to access your money
- Also no fees to transfer funds in or out
- A fully automated market system with auto-match algorithms
- Fully diversified investment opportunities
- Fast easy online setup
Website: Fund Ourselves
Read the full Fund Ourselves review.
13. Goji
- Founded in 2015, Goji is a direct lending company based in London
- Innovative Finance ISAs available only
- Management of 30 IF ISA platforms
- Electronic ISA transfers
- Automated HMRC reporting and workflow management
- Automated support for ISA transfers from existing ISA managers
- Cutting-edge management services
- Fast easy onboarding
- ISA funds held in FCA compliant client money account
- Investment Association Fintech member
- Award-winning: Alternative Investment Awards Best P2P Lending Technology Provider
- Backed by AXA Strategic Ventures and Anthemis
- Fast easy online setup
Website: Goji
Read the full Goji review.
14. Hartley Pensions
- Based in Bristol and established in 1981, Hartley Pensions provides various pension products
- Stocks and Shares ISAs, Innovative Finance ISAs and Junior Stocks and Shares ISA products available
- No fees charged to transfer out
- Quick and easy to signup online
- Calls answered by trained financial industry professionals, not call centre staff
- Every client gets their own personal administrator
- Flexible, straight-forward products
Website: Hartley Pensions
Read the full Hartley Pensions review.
15. HNW Lending
- Based in London, HNW Lending is a peer-to-peer asset-based lender that offers asset-based funding solutions
- Innovative Finance ISAs available only
- Fast and free sign-up and application process
- Good security and high returns
- Authorised and regulated by The Financial Conduct Authority
- FCA-approved wind-down plan protects lenders in case of insolvency
Website: HNW Lending
Read the full HNW Lending review.
16. Invest & Fund
- Founded in 2012, Invest & Fund is a peer-to-peer marketplace helping individuals, high net worth lenders, private banks, family offices and institutions
- Innovative Finance ISAs available only
- Earn Interest Tax Free on Loans
- Expertise in credit risk assessment, property development and lending
- 100% focus on residential property and bridging finance
- Start lending from £500, earn the full return minus 0.75%
- A clear easy-to-understand website
- Fast easy online setup
Website: Invest & Fund
Read the full Invest & Fund review.
17. Landlord Invest
- Specialists in landlords financing
- Innovative Finance ISAs available only
- Returns of up to 12% per annum
- Choose the loans you invest in – all loans are secured by British property
- Secure online signup in minutes
- No investor fees
- Receive monthly interest payments
- FCA authorised
- One of the first platforms to offer a residential property-backed IFISA
- A clear, easy-to-understand website
Website: Landlord Invest
Read the full Landlord Invest review.
18. Lending Works
- Lending Works is a UK peer-to-peer lending platform based in London
- Innovative Finance ISAs available
- Sign up in two minutes, then open your IFISA in one simple step
- Lending Works Shield provides first-loss cover across entire loan book
- Diverse investment opportunities split across many loans
- Flexible access options with fee-free early exit
- A clear, easy to understand website
- Some very good customer reviews
Website: Lending Works
Read the full Lending Works review.
19. Loanpad
- Based in London, Loanpad provides a user-friendly, lower-risk platform for investors
- Innovative Finance ISAs available only
- 3.25% returns with a Loanpad ISA Classic account
- 4.25% returns with ISA Premium account
- Fast, simple on-boarding process
- Daily access
- An easy to understand, clear website
- Excellent customer reviews
- An easy-to-use, reliable platform that out-performs others in the industry
Website: Loanpad
Read the full Loanpad review.
20. Marshall Sterling
- Based in Mayfair, London, Marshall Sterling is an Investment, Asset and Wealth Management organisation
- It provides a broad range of financial service solutions
- Stocks and Shares ISAs and Innovative Finance ISAs available
- A wide range of ISA qualifying stocks and shares from both the UK and on six international markets
- Invest in funds, bonds, gilts and more
- Low cost dealing and administration charges
- FCA Authorised and HMRC approved
- Fast easy online setup
Website: Marshall Sterling
Read the full Marshall Sterling review.
21. Proplend
- Proplend is a financial technology platform that specialises in sub-£5m commercial property loans
- Innovative Finance ISAs available only
- Innovative Finance ISA is flexible to allow temporary withdrawals
- Fast easy online signup
- No extra fees or limits: the charge is the same 10% lender fee on interest credited
- Access to a large range of funds
- Earn 5-12% AER tax-free
- Manually choose which loans to invest in or enable the hassle-free Auto-Lend facility
- Excellent customer feedback
Website: Proplend
Read the full Proplend review
22. rebuildingsociety.com
- Launched in 2012, rebuildingsociety.com is a Leeds-based peer-to-peer lending platform
- Focused on finance for small and medium businesses
- Innovative Finance ISAs available only
- Easy transfer from other ISAs
- Average Net Return: 6.9%
- Earn up to 18.1% interest, commercial terms depend on credit score
- Get setup in 40 minutes
- Minimum investment amount only £10
- Access your capital on the Secondary Marketplace
- A clear, easy to understand website
- Defaqto 5 Star rating
Website: rebuildingsociety.com
Read the full rebuildingsociety.com review
23. Relendex
- Based in London, Relendex is a peer-to-peer commercial real estate lending platform
- Innovative Finance ISAs available only
- The Self-Select IFISA lets you choose exactly which loans you want to put your money into
- The Secured-Portfolio IFISA offers an investment portfolio that is created for you
- No transfer out fees
- Excellent customer reviews
- An easy to use platform that is simple to invest in
- Quick easy online signup
- Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
Website: Relendex
Read the full Relendex review
24. ShareCredit
- ShareCredit is a London-based lending platform
- Innovative Finance ISAs available only
- Refer-a-Friend Scheme to earn 0.10%, annually, on all of their investments
- £10 minimum investment on the primary market
- No investment fees
- Quick easy online signup
- Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
- An excellent online FAQ section
Website: ShareCredit
Read the full ShareCredit review
25. Shojin
- Based in London, Shojin Property Partners is an investment company that provides access to institutional-grade investment opportunities in the UK real estate sector
- Innovative Finance ISAs available only
- Transferring any existing ISAs into Shojin projects is straightforward and quick
- A wide variety of IFISA eligible projects to invest in
- No management fees
- A clear, easy to understand website
- Platform interface is intuitive, clear and simple to use
- Excellent customer reviews
- Quick, easy and free to setup online
- Authorised by the FCA
Website: Shojin
Read the full Shojin review
26. Tifosy
- Founded in 2013, Tifosy is a sports investment company
- It uses its proprietary global investment platform to support the development of sports clubs and associations
- Innovative Finance ISAs available only
- Specialist investment opportunities in the global sports sector
- Fast easy online setup
- 24/7 access to your IFISA account
- Free transfer-in from other ISAs
Website: Tifosy
Read the full Tifosy review
27. Zopa
- The world’s first peer-to-peer platform
- Innovative Finance ISAs – choose your level of risk appetite with either ISA Core and ISA Plus
- Easy transfer in from existing ISAs
- Fast simple online setup
- Generate returns projected between 2.0% – 5.3%
- Withdraw your funds at any time
- A clear, easy to understand website and responsive app
- Excellent customer reviews
- Fully regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
- Award-winning: Moneyfacts Personal Loan Provider of the Year
Website: Zopa
Read the full Zopa review
What is an Innovative Finance ISA?
An Innovative Finance ISA, sometimes referred to as an IFISA, is an ISA that contains peer-to-peer loans instead of cash or stocks and shares. It matches investors, who are willing to lend, with borrowers, who could be individuals, businesses, or property developers.
With this type of ISA you are effectively cutting out the middle man by eliminating the use of a bank, because you will invest your money directly through an online portal instead, which is known as peer-to-peer lending. This tends to earn much higher rates of interest than a traditional savings account. However the risks are far greater too. Several trading platforms have collapsed in recent years, and unlike with Stocks and Shares ISAs, peer-to-peer platforms are not protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme should they collapse. Returns are not guaranteed, and you could wait several months before you get to withdraw your money.
IFISAs come in all shapes and sizes; lending money for individuals, small businesses, property developments, renewable energy projects; the list is endless. Some of these investments will be secure, some not. Some are also better known or come with better reputations, others not so much. Due to this risk it is wise to thoroughly research any investment opportunity before you decide to put any money in.
You may invest up to £20,000 into an Innovative Finance ISA each tax year.
How much money can I put into an Innovative Finance ISA?
The annual limit to invest into an Innovative Finance ISA is £20,000 each tax year. This allowance can be fully invested in an Innovative Finance ISA, or spread across the different types of ISA you may also have. You can also transfer existing ISA funds into an Innovative Finance ISA. This £20,000 limit applies to each adult, so if you are married or have a civil partner you each have a £20,000 limit each year.
How many Innovative Finance ISAs can I have?
You can only open and pay into one Innovative Finance ISA in each tax year. However you are allowed to divide your annual allowance according to any proportion you like, which means you can split your yearly ISA allowance of £20,000 across any of the different types of ISA that you hold. You just need to make sure you don’t exceed your ISA allowance across all your ISAs. You may also transfer all of your cash and stocks and shares ISA money into an Innovative Finance ISA if you wish. This usually takes up to 30 days.