Lendermarket Review 2026: Licensed, Loss-Making, Creditstar-Linked

Lendermarket is an online marketplace where you lend money, in euros, to consumer lending companies, which use it to fund short-term loans to their own customers. It is operated by Lendermarket Limited, an Irish company registered in Dublin, and since 17 December 2024 it has been authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland as a crowdfunding service provider under the EU crowdfunding regulation (ECSPR).

The platform was built around Creditstar Group, an Estonian consumer lender founded in 2006. Lendermarket's own about page says its founder, Aaro, spent a decade in consumer finance before starting it; Estonia's business register shows that Aaro Sosaar owns SA Financial Investments OÜ, which is both Lendermarket's parent and the 100% owner of Creditstar Group. In 2026 Lendermarket lists nine lenders from Estonia, Spain, Colombia, Mexico, Romania, Moldova and the Czech Republic.

The short version: Lendermarket is a small, licensed platform whose history is inseparable from one related-party lender, and whose operating company is loss-making and supported by its group. For how we weigh these points, see our methodology; live figures and the score are on the Lendermarket platform page.

Lendermarket runs two separate services, and they give you different rights. Its January 2026 services statement sets them out.

The Crowdfunding Service (regulated)

Under the licensed service, you conclude a loan agreement with the loan originator — either a Limited Recourse Loan Agreement or a Limited Purpose Loan Agreement. You advance unsecured money to the lending company, and it repays you according to those terms. Lendermarket states that users of this service "are subject to the protections and safeguards offered and established by the Crowdfunding Regulation": the key investment information sheet, the entry knowledge test and a four-day cooling-off period for non-sophisticated investors.

The Claims Assignment Service (unregulated)

Under the second service, the lending company assigns you its claim against the borrower. Lendermarket states plainly that this service "is not subject to the Crowdfunding Regulation", that it holds no authorisation to provide it, and that users "are not entitled to the protections and safeguards" of the regulation.

The loan originators page has separate "Regulated Services" and "Unregulated Services" headings, but when we checked, it did not show which lenders fell under each. Before you invest, check which service a loan belongs to. The licence on the homepage does not cover everything the platform sells.

Where the money comes from

In both cases you depend on the lending company. Borrowers repay the lender, and the lender pays you. If a borrower is more than 60 days late, the lender is obliged to buy the loan back. If the lender itself stops paying, the buyback stops too.

The operator is Lendermarket Limited, Irish company number 585178, registered at 77 Sir John Rogerson's Quay, Dublin. It also lists offices in Berlin, Madrid and Tallinn. The 2025 annual report names:

• Carles Federico Arnabat, chief executive and executive director;
• Tauri Jaanson, executive director;
• Sinead Halhed-Moran Walsh, independent director and chair, appointed 15 September 2025;
• Eduardo Marin Rodriguez, independent director, appointed 20 November 2025.

The company had 16 employees at the end of 2025, up from 11.

The Creditstar connection

Lendermarket's parent and ultimate controlling party is SA Financial Investments OÜ, an Estonian holding company. According to the Estonian business register, SA Financial Investments is wholly owned by Aaro Sosaar and owns 100% of Creditstar Group AS. Lendermarket's annual report describes Creditstar Group as a related party that provides group buyback undertakings for some lender obligations.

Creditstar Group also runs Monefit SmartSaver, which its 2025 annual report describes as its investment platform. So Lendermarket, Creditstar and Monefit are three faces of one privately owned group. Our Monefit review looks at the SmartSaver side.

The annual report uses an exemption under the Irish FRS 102 Section 1A standard not to disclose transactions with group companies. So investors cannot see from Lendermarket's accounts how much of the platform's volume, revenue or funding comes from Creditstar.

Lendermarket accepts individuals aged 18 or over who are tax-resident in the EU or Switzerland and hold a bank account in the European Economic Area or Switzerland. Companies can also invest. The platform works only in euros.

1. 1Register with your email address and create a password.
2. 2Verify your identity.
3. 3Complete the ECSPR entry knowledge test and, if you are a non-sophisticated investor, note the four-day cooling-off period on regulated investments.
4. 4Deposit by SEPA bank transfer or card. Lendermarket charges no deposit fee; your bank or card provider may.
5. 5Choose manual investing, Auto-Invest or Auto Invest FLEX. The minimum per loan is €10.

Before you invest, check whether the loans you are buying come under the regulated Crowdfunding Service or the unregulated Claims Assignment Service, and read the originator profile, including its extension policy. Decide how much you are prepared to have exposed to one lending group for several months.

Lendermarket is straightforward to join and run: identity checks are handled online by Sumsub, you can top up by card as well as by bank transfer, and Auto-Invest takes care of the loan picking.

Signing up

After registering, you verify your identity through Lendermarket's partner Sumsub; once that is done you can deposit and start investing. Companies can open an account too.

Deposits

There are two ways to fund the account, both in euros:

• SEPA bank transfer — low-cost, with your reference number in the payment description so the money is matched to your account.
• Card — which Lendermarket says tops up your account instantly.

Lendermarket's own fee for either method is zero; some banks and card providers charge their own.

Setting up Auto-Invest

You set your criteria once, and Auto-Invest then scans the loan list and buys loans that match. Portfolios can be paused, edited or deleted at any time, and each loan starts at €10, so even a small balance can be spread widely. If you would rather not set criteria at all, Auto Invest FLEX is the managed alternative described above.

Dashboard and security

Lendermarket runs in the web browser; its help centre does not mention a mobile app. The dashboard has an Earnings Breakdown, and a Statement page with filters lists every transaction. Two-factor authentication is available, and Lendermarket recommends switching it on. The site is offered in English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Finnish and Polish.

Documents and support

The tax report is one click away: select your initials in the top-right corner and choose Tax Report. Support answers by email at support@lendermarket.com or through a contact form, Monday to Friday, 09:00–17:00 CET, and the help centre covers accounts, deposits, withdrawals and investing.

Manual investing and Auto-Invest

You can pick loans yourself or set Auto-Invest criteria — lender, rate, term and so on — and let the platform buy loans that match. The minimum is €10 per loan. On 21 September 2026 the homepage showed 15,472 loans available. Loans end when the final repayment is made; there is no secondary market for selling them early.

Auto Invest FLEX

Auto Invest FLEX is a managed portfolio advertised at "up to 10.5%" with the option to exit early. You can request an exit of 10%, 25%, 50%, 75% or 100% of the portfolio. Lendermarket charges a flat 3.5% of the amount exited, and says processing can take up to 10 working days. Only one exit request per portfolio can be active at a time.

The early-exit option is useful, but it has a cost and conditions. A 3.5% fee is about four months of interest at 10.5%. And an exit mechanism depends on replacement money or the lenders; it is not a withdrawal from a bank account.

Loan originators in 2026

Lendermarket's risk rating page (updated August 2026) lists nine lenders with its own 1–10 score:

• Creditstar Group (Estonia) — 7.83
• Gatelink (Estonia) — 7.83
• Best Credit (Romania) — 7.53
• Credifiel (Mexico) — 7.24
• RapiCredit (Colombia) — 6.97
• Flowpay (Czech Republic) — 6.94
• Dineo (Spain) — 6.50
• OK Credit (Moldova, added 21 August 2026) — 5.92
• RapiCredit Iberica (Spain) — 5.52

In 2025 only three were active: Creditstar, Dineo and RapiCredit. Most of the others are new in 2026 and have no track record on the platform. Note too that the scores are Lendermarket's own, and 35% of the weighting is "public trust" signals such as reviews. A score assigned by a platform to a lender in its own group is not an independent rating.

The 13.46% on Lendermarket's homepage is labelled a "weighted average of available loans as of 06.02.2026". It is the average interest rate on loans that were open for investment on one day in February 2026 — more than seven months before our check — and not what investors earned. Lendermarket's about page calls the same 13.46% an "average net annual return", which is a different claim; we treat the dated homepage description as the accurate one.

Other figures from Lendermarket itself:

• The 2025 annual report gives a weighted average interest rate of 14.6% for 2025, and €13.9 million of interest paid to investors.
• Average rates by lender on the originators page range from 10.5% (OK Credit) to 15.56% (RapiCredit); Creditstar's is 14.63%.
• Auto Invest FLEX is advertised at up to 10.5%.

Lendermarket does not publish a realised net-return series after defaults, extensions and fees. The gap between coupon and result on this platform has mostly been about time: when Creditstar held back payments between 2022 and 2024, interest kept accruing on paper while the money was not available. A 14% coupon earned over a longer period than planned is a lower annual return.

A high rate here is a price for lending unsecured to high-cost consumer lenders, several of them in emerging markets. See our risks page.

Lendermarket's fee page, last updated on 16 August 2026, lists:

• Registration, purchase, management and portfolio fees: free (portfolio fee 0%).
• Bank and card deposits: free from Lendermarket; your bank or card issuer may charge.
• Bank and card withdrawals: listed as free from Lendermarket.
• Auto Invest FLEX early exit: 3.5% of the amount exited.

The help centre adds conditions that the fee page does not show: the first bank withdrawal each month is free and further withdrawals cost €2, the minimum withdrawal is €50, and card withdrawals carry processing fees. Where the two pages disagree, assume the stricter one until Lendermarket confirms.

There is no inactivity fee listed and no currency conversion, because the platform works only in euros.

In practice, the fee that matters is the 3.5% FLEX exit charge: it is only paid when you most want your money back.

Lendermarket has no secondary market. Money in a loan comes back when the loan is repaid, bought back by the lender, or — in Auto Invest FLEX — when an exit request is processed at a 3.5% cost.

Creditstar loans can be extended up to six times by 30 days if the lender pays the interest due, so a short loan can stay open for considerably longer than its original term.

Uninvested cash can be withdrawn to your bank account, with a €50 minimum. The help centre says it can take up to 10 working days for funds to reach your available balance.

The weak point is that exits depend on the lenders paying. If a lender stops, no buyer exists for its loans and FLEX exits would depend on replacement money. Treat Lendermarket money as committed for the life of the loans, and longer if a lender runs into trouble.

Lendermarket's help centre states that if a borrower is more than 60 days late, the loan originator is contractually obliged to buy back your investment at full principal plus accrued interest. The 2025 annual report adds that buyback undertakings are "a contractual obligation of the relevant Loan Originator, not a guarantee from Lendermarket".

Three things weaken that promise:

1. 1It is only as strong as the lender. A buyback from a small lender in Colombia, Moldova or Mexico is worth what that company can pay. If it fails, the buyback fails with it.
2. 2Extensions delay it. Creditstar can extend a loan by 30 days up to six times by paying the scheduled interest. Other lenders have their own extension policies, shown per loan. During extensions the 60-day clock does not start.
3. 3Group guarantees stay in the group. Creditstar's profile shows a group guarantee, which means Creditstar Group standing behind its own subsidiaries — not an outside party.

Creditstar's skin in the game is shown as 5% on its profile page and 10% on the originators list; we could not confirm which is current.

There is no collateral on most loans. OK Credit, added in August 2026, also lends against vehicles and property in Moldova, but that collateral secures its loans to borrowers, not your claim on OK Credit.

Lendermarket Limited is authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland as a crowdfunding service provider under Regulation (EU) 2020/1503, with effect from 17 December 2024 and reference C513967, for the facilitation of the granting of loans. The ECSPR authorisation allows it to serve investors across the EU from Ireland.

What the licence gives you, on regulated loans

• A supervised operator with conduct, governance and disclosure rules.
• A key investment information sheet for each offer.
• An entry knowledge test and a four-day cooling-off period for non-sophisticated investors.

What it does not give you

• No investor compensation scheme. Unlike a MiFID investment firm, an ECSPR platform is not covered by a compensation scheme if it fails.
• No deposit guarantee. These are loans to lending companies, not bank deposits.
• No protection on the Claims Assignment Service. Lendermarket states that this service is outside the regulation and that its users do not get ECSPR protections.
• No protection against lender failure on either service.

The licence improves how the platform is run and what it must tell you. It does not change the credit risk of the lenders or the group relationship with Creditstar.

Lendermarket Limited

Lendermarket publishes its annual report. For 2025:

• Revenue €1,457,875 (2024: €1,369,514).
• Loss for the year €1,123,349 (2024: €299,639), as administrative expenses rose from €1.65 million to €2.47 million.
• Equity €1,645,542; cash €2,888,457; accumulated losses €2,609,424.

The auditor, Azets Audit Services Ireland Limited, gave an unqualified opinion but included a material uncertainty related to going concern. The directors state that continuing depends on trading profitably in future "and on the ongoing financial support from group companies".

That is the most important financial fact about the operator. Lendermarket's survival depends on the same group whose lender is its largest counterparty.

Creditstar Group

Creditstar Group AS's 2025 consolidated report, its first under IFRS and audited by KPMG Baltics, shows revenue of €110.9 million, net profit of €13.5 million (2024: €7.2 million), equity of €85.1 million and a net loan portfolio of €482.2 million across eight countries. It had €90.3 million of bonds outstanding and €285.2 million of funding from P2P lending, up from €145.1 million.

Creditstar is profitable and growing, which is the main support for the buyback. It is also heavily funded by retail platforms, including its own, so a loss of confidence among retail investors would hit its funding directly.

The episode that defines Lendermarket's record concerns pending payments — the help centre defines them as earned interest and principal repayments that have not yet reached your available balance.

Between 2022 and 2024, a large amount of Creditstar repayments sat in pending payments rather than reaching investors. Lendermarket published several updates titled around Creditstar's "progress in pending payments settlements", one of them referring back to an update in March 2024, and said investors earned 18% a year on pending payments held beyond a 10-day grace period. Independent coverage (re:think P2P) reports that some investors waited up to 720 days, and that Lendermarket announced in October 2025 that all outstanding payments had been settled.

We could not find Lendermarket's own figures for the size of the backlog or confirm the settlement announcement on Lendermarket's site. What the record shows is that the related-party lender delayed payments to platform investors for a long period, that investors were paid interest on the delay, and that — on the available reports — the money was eventually paid.

This matters for two reasons. It shows the extension-and-pending mechanism being used at scale. And it was the platform's own sister company doing it, which is exactly the situation where an independent platform would be expected to push hardest for investors.

1. 1Related-party lender. Creditstar Group and Lendermarket share an owner. The platform's rating of Creditstar and its handling of any future delay are not independent.
2. 2Operator going concern. Lendermarket lost €1.12 million in 2025 and relies on group support. If the group withdrew it, the platform would be in difficulty.
3. 3Lender failure. The buyback is only as good as each lender. Several of the nine are new to the platform and operate in Colombia, Mexico and Moldova.
4. 4Extensions and delays. Up to six 30-day extensions and a history of pending payments mean money can come back much later than planned.
5. 5Unregulated service. Loans offered through the Claims Assignment Service carry no ECSPR protections.
6. 6Liquidity. No secondary market; the FLEX exit costs 3.5% and takes up to 10 working days.
7. 7No compensation scheme. Neither the ECSPR licence nor anything else covers lender or platform failure.

These are not bank deposits. Size a Lendermarket position so that a long delay, or a loss, would not change your plans.

This is general information, not tax advice. Interest from Lendermarket is taxed according to the rules of your country of tax residence.

Lendermarket provides a tax report in your account settings, and states that it is "provided for informational purposes only" and may not reflect your obligations in every jurisdiction; it does not give tax advice. Independent coverage reports that Lendermarket does not withhold tax on interest, so you would normally declare the gross interest yourself. We could not confirm the withholding position from Lendermarket's own pages.

The treatment of interest earned on delayed payments, extension interest, buyback payments and the 3.5% FLEX exit fee differs between countries. Speak to a tax adviser in your country of residence before you file.