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Borrowing money from a conventional online lender or local bank can be a strenuous process. With this in mind, the emergence of peer-to-peer lending platforms made way for an easier means to provide and find loans among individuals.
Nibble, however, comes with a twist in this particular segment of the P2P space. Instead of choosing the borrower, you will be investing your money with Nibble. In turn, the provider will connect your funds with borrowers.
Meanwhile, you get to make interest on the amount you are lending. Nibble does the leg work of managing your investments, making the P2P lending process a breeze for the investor.
In this review, we explore how Nibble makes peer-to-portfolio lending possible.
What is Nibble?
In simple terms, Nibble is a financial platform that connects investors with borrowers. The platform is a product developed by IT Smart Finance, a leading financial establishment with a variety of fintech products and solutions.
Nibble is backed by the extensive experience held by ITSF and thus – takes an innovative approach towards lending. Its ‘peer-to-portfolio’ model enables you to invest in non-bank lending products safely. The platform also offers a variety of additional models to invest in, aiming to create a more cost-effective way to create an income-generating portfolio.
You will essentially be investing in loans issued by companies that Nibble has partnered with. Currently, the list includes Joymoney Spain, Russia, and Mexico. The Joymoney brand is another company under the ITSF umbrella that focuses on providing borrowers with all of the assistance required to resolve their financial difficulties.
You can invest in two types of loans through Nibble:
- Short Term Loans with a loan amount up to 500 euros and a duration of up to 30 days.
- Instalment Loans with a loan amount up to 1,000 euros and a duration of up to 90 days.
About IT Smart Finance
Given that Nibble is heavily reliant on the authenticity and experience of ITSF, it makes sense to take a closer look at this company. With over five years of experience in fintech, ITSF has created a number of digital solutions that are simple, fast, and offer secure services for consumers.
Today, ITSF has a network of over 500,000 registered users and a proven track record throughout the Eurasian market. Nibble is one of ITSF’s latest fintech products. With its auto-investment tool, this allows you to engage with P2P trading in an efficient and straightforward manner.
How to Invest with Nibble?
Becoming an investor at Nibble is quick and easy. You can start by:
- Registering on the Nibble website
- Verify your identity
- Deposit money into your Nibble account.
The minimum investment required is only 10 euros. If you want to invest more than 10,000 euros, you will need to pass additional verification by contacting the support team.
Note: At the time of writing, Nibble only accepts deposits from European bank accounts.
Once you have added funds, you can choose the type of portfolio that you wish to invest in.
Who can Invest at Nibble?
In order to be eligible, you need to be a resident in the European Union or the UK, and have an account with a European bank. Nibble’s services are also open to companies. If registering for a corporate account, you will need to provide additional documents during registration.
Nibble Identity Verification
In accordance with European Union laws related to anti-money laundering, Nibble goes through a strict process to verify the identity of all its users.
Nibble works with Veriff to ensure the security of any document you provide during the verification process. In order to do this, you will need to provide a valid government-issued identity document – alongside a selfie.
Nibble notes that all of your personal data will be completely secure via encryption. The process is completely automated, and verification is executed via the AI-powered software of Veriff. While you can register as a user, this step is necessary if you want to deposit funds or create an investment portfolio.
Nibble Automated Investment
Investing in Nibble can be done only through their automated investment feature. As a user, you can set your desired investment criteria such as the amount and duration. Nibble will then invest in loans on your behalf.
Portfolio Options
Nibble offers two types of portfolio options, which will unravel in more detail below.
Test Portfolio
Nibble allows you to try out a trial investment portfolio by investing money for a period of up to 21 days. Each user can create a trial portfolio once, and invest a maximum sum of 300 euros.
Long-Term Investment
The long-term investment option encourages users to invest for a longer duration to get the maximum profit. According to Nibble, 70% of investors choose the long-term option straight after joining.
The interest rate on the long-term portfolio is up to 12% for a period of between 3 and 60 months. At present, Nibble is running a summer rally at an increased interest rate of up to 14% until November of 2020.
There is no limit on the investment amount for this one. However, as we mentioned earlier, for amounts in excess of 10,000 euros, you will need to go through an extra set of verification steps.
Nibble also has a simulator that allows you to adjust your settings. This includes the investment amount, monthly deposit size, and the duration of each loan. This will yield the expected annual return at the given interest rate. This feature is useful in figuring out what your investment will grow to if you proceed.
Reinvest Option
Nibble also has a reinvesting option in place. By the end of the term, you can choose to reinvest any income received to help you grow your money faster. After all, compound interest allows you to earn ‘interest on your interests’ – a key principle in the world finance.
For long-term portfolios, interest accumulates on a daily basis. If the reinvestment option is turned off, your earned income will be reflected in your account every seven days. You can withdraw your earnings at any given time to your associated bank account.
Note: Once you have created an investment portfolio, it is not possible to cancel it or make changes.
BuyBack Guarantee
Nibble has joined the P2P trend of offering a buyback guarantee and thus – positions itself as one of the safest platforms to invest. Crucially, all investments at Nibble are covered by its buyback scheme.
As such, if the loan is not paid back within the duration of 60 days from the date you invested, Joymoney will purchase your share of the financing agreement.
In Layman’s terms, if a borrower misses a payment, Nibble will ensure that you get your money back. The interesting part is that this guarantee covers both the principal amount and the interest.
Who are the Borrowers?
As Nibble is an auto-investment platform, you, as a user, do not have much control over choosing individual borrowers. However, the platform notes that each investment will mirror that of your predefined settings. The loans are issued for a duration of 5 to 30 days, for amounts from 50 to 500 euros.
According to Nibble, borrowers also have to go through a stringent verification process to be eligible for a loan. The scoring system is based on ten parameters, and the acceptance rate is only 10%. This allows the company to choose borrowers who possess minimal risk.
This includes aspects such as the borrower’s credit history, payment of taxes, and other compensations. Besides, the automatic mode ensures that there is zero possibility of errors or human factoring when analyzing the creditworthiness of potential borrowers.
Loans are issued under strict rules, after considering the risks and the solvency of the clients.
Does Nibble Charge any Fee?
Nibble’s services are offered entirely fee-free. All costs are covered by the interest charged to the end borrower. Crucially, you get to keep all earnings from your investments without paying any commissions.
Nibble Customer Support
You can reach the customer service team via email or telephone support. Nibble also recently added its live chat option, which seems to be accessible only until you log in as a registered user.
Nibble Affiliate Program
As a relatively new fintech service, Nibble encourages account holders to refer new customers to its platform. In doing so, you will receive a fixed payment on each registration – as well as a percentage of revenues earned from their subsequent investments.
There are two remuneration plans offered for the affiliate program. You can choose to receive the total earnings or decide to share it with the referred user.
Promo Plan
- 5 euros upon completing the registration process and meeting the minimum deposit amount.
- 2% of investments made in the first 90 days.
- The referred user will receive 1% of this figure.
Individual Plan
- 5 euros upon completing the registration process and meeting the minimum deposit amount.
- 3% of investments made in the first 90 days.
Is Nibble Safe?
Nibble is an organisation that falls under the Estonian Court Register and hence covered by Estonian laws. In addition, Nibble is also in the process of obtaining an FSA license. This will add an extra set of eyes on the platform, which is always a good thing.
That said, Nibble has made it clear that any investment comes with its own risk. The platform does not ignore the fact that sometimes the repayments on loan might be later than expected, or sooner, resulting in a lower amount of interest.
Realising the risks, Nibble has implemented its buyback scheme that ‘guarantees’ the safety of your funds to an extent.
However, it is essential to remember that these guarantees are only valid for as long as both Nibble and JoyMoney are stable and fully functional. In the scenario that these companies ran into financial problems, the buyback scheme won’t be worth the paper it is written on.
With that said, any outstanding loan agreements that are payable to you should remain in your name.
Where Nibble Shines
The most attractive aspect of Nibble is its high-interest rates of up to 14%. It goes without saying that this is well above the industry average. The minimum investment deposit of 10 euros is an additional incentive, as it opens doors to a broader range of customers.
Another positive note is that investors do not have to worry about choosing who to lend money to. Nibble takes care of this, subsequently ensuring that you can invest passively without needing to perform your own research.
The availability of a buyback guarantee – although not a sure-fire safeguard, is most certainly a plus-point. In terms of user experience, the platform’s interface is fairly straightforward, making it extremely beginner-friendly.
Where Nibble Falls Short
Putting the aforementioned positives to one side, Nibble is still a very new platform in the fintech sector. Although automated-investing is beneficial, the platform is relatively vague in how the borrowers are selected. There is also a very limited variety of loan and portfolio options.
Most importantly, there is no information regarding where or how your funds are stored. Though Nibble mentions on its website that it is responsible for the safety of your money, transactions and personal data – there is a lack of transparency in this regard.
Nibble Review: The Verdict?
Nibble has made it extremely easy for the Average Joe to enter the world of peer-to-peer investing. You simply need to open an account, deposit at least 10 euros – and you’re good to go. Best of all, the platform offers a lucrative interest yield of up to 14% per year.
However, with such high returns does come additional risks. While it is notable that a buyback guarantee is in place, this is never a 100% risk-free safeguard. As such, just make sure that you diversify across multiple platforms and investment opportunities – as opposed to putting all of your eggs into the one Nibble basket.
Nibble
Pros
- High Rates of Interest
- Buyback Guarantee
- Passive Auto Investing
- Low Minimum Investments
Cons
- No secondary market
- Newer platform
Stay Ahead of the Market with Benzinga Pro!
Want to trade like a pro? Benzinga Pro gives you the edge you need in today's fast-paced markets. Get real-time news, exclusive insights, and powerful tools trusted by professional traders:- Breaking market-moving stories before they hit mainstream media
- Live audio squawk for hands-free market updates
- Advanced stock scanner to spot promising trades
- Expert trade ideas and on-demand support
