Independent classification of 25 platforms ties license status to lending model, as EU crowdfunding rules reach their fifth anniversary on November 10
CAMAIORE, LUCCA, ITALY, October 25, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — P2PRadar, an independent comparison website for European peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms, reports that 9 of the 10 marketplace platforms in its public table hold an EU-level authorization, compared with 2 of the 12 platforms that lend through their own group companies. The classification covers 25 euro-denominated platforms as of October 23, 2026, and is published as the EU crowdfunding rules reach their fifth anniversary on November 10.
The full classification, with definitions and a downloadable dataset, is available in the License Tracker. Across all 25 platforms, 13 hold an EU-level authorization: eight as European Crowdfunding Service Providers (ECSP) under Regulation (EU) 2020/1503, and five under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II). Two hold national licenses, and ten hold no license of any of these three types. Marketplaces, where independent lenders list loans on the platform, make up 10 of the 25 platforms, and nine of them are EU-authorized. In-house lenders, where the platform’s own group provides or originates the loans, make up 12: two are EU-authorized, two hold national licenses and eight hold no license. Three platforms combine both models, and two of them are EU-authorized.
According to its published methodology, P2PRadar scores each platform on four weighted factors: trust and transparency (35 percent), track record (30 percent), operating maturity (20 percent), and governance and controversies (15 percent). In the current table, marketplaces average 72 out of 100, platforms combining both models 68, and in-house lenders 43. Because regulatory status is one input to the trust factor, part of that gap comes from the method itself. License status is also not a verdict: two platforms without a license score 70 or higher, while the lowest-scoring EU-authorized platform scores 44.
The methodology states that high advertised returns, bonuses, signup promotions and affiliate status do not raise a score, and that a higher score is not capital protection. The table also marks a capital-at-risk line, which P2PRadar describes as a speculative-risk warning and not an accusation.
“Yield is the easiest number to compare and the least informative,” said Francesco Navari, founder of P2PRadar. “Before the rate, investors can ask two questions: who lends, and who supervises. In this table, the answers are linked.”
A license register shows who is authorized. It does not by itself show whether loans come from independent lenders or from the platform’s own group. P2PRadar suggests three checks before comparing rates: whether the platform appears in the register of authorized crowdfunding service providers kept by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), or in a national register for MiFID II firms; whether the lender is independent of the platform; and what the platform publishes about defaults and recoveries over several years.
“A license is a starting point, not protection,” Navari said. “It shows who supervises the platform. It does not remove the risk that the lender, or the platform’s own group, cannot repay.”
P2PRadar discloses that some links on the site are affiliate links and that it may receive a commission from a partner platform when a reader registers or invests through them, at no extra cost to the reader. Not every listed platform is a partner, and the site states that affiliate status does not raise a score. The site is informational and does not provide personalized financial advice.
Investing in P2P lending carries risk, including partial or total loss of the capital invested, and returns are not guaranteed. The figures in this release reflect P2PRadar’s own classification and scores as of October 23, 2026, and may change as platforms and regulators update their information.
About P2PRadar
P2PRadar (https://p2pradar.app) is an independent informational project on European P2P lending, operated by Francesco Navari as a sole proprietorship in Camaiore, Italy. The site offers a comparison table, platform reviews, articles, calculators and tax guides for retail investors, in 12 languages. Navari is available for interviews on license status and lending models in European P2P lending.
Francesco Navari
P2PRadar
francesco@p2pradar.app
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