goPeer review

What is goPeer?

goPeer is unique as it is Canada’s first consumer peer-to-peer lending platform offering personal loans to Canadians. Founded in 2019, this Toronto-based company strives to offer the most competitive interest rates to Canadians with good to excellent credit. The entire application and loan approval process is done online from the comfort of your home.

What is a peer-to-peer lender?

Peer-to-peer (P2P) lending involves borrowing money from anonymous lenders through an online platform, like goPeer. The platform connects investors who want to earn money on interest from loaning out their savings to borrowers across the country. The interest on your loan is paid directly to the people who lent it to you through the P2P platform.

Is goPeer legitimate?

It is. goPeer has a 24-hour support line for clients, and lists its leadership team’s profiles prominently on its website. goPeer has been featured in mainstream Canadian media, including Yahoo Finance, and Mortgage Broker News, and has partnered with organizations such as York University and Western University’s Ivey Business School. goPeer says that it has 4,305 Canadian investors with over $90.4 million in loan applications received (as of December 2021).

goPeer Personal Loan features

Feature	Details
Loan amount	$1,000 – $35,000
Loan type	Unsecured
Loan term	36 months or 60 months
Interest rate	8.99% - 34.99%
Fees	Origination fee varies No application or prepayment fees
Serviced provinces	All provinces
Basic eligibility criteria	Recommended income of $35,000/year, no payday loan debt, min. credit score 600

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What we like about goPeer Personal Loans

goPeer is a niche alternative lending platform so if you’re thinking about taking out a personal loan, it has a number of great features, including:

• Competitive interest rates. If your finances are strong, you may be able to score an interest rate that’s even lower than what the banks can offer. The average interest rate on a goPeer Personal Loan is 15.9% (as of December 2021).
• Online application with a quick turnaround. Borrowers can apply for a goPeer Personal Loan completely online within 10 minutes via an easy-to-use application form. You can expect to receive an instant quote followed up by loan offers within a single business day. Once your loan is processed, your account and loan repayments are managed completely online too.
• Borrow from fellow Canadians. What’s neat about P2P lending is that your loan is provided by fellow Canadians who are interested in investing and helping out their peers. The interest you pay on your loan goes directly to your peers instead of into the hands of a big bank or financial institution.
• Loans up to $35,000. The amount you can borrow from goPeer starts at $1,000 and goes up to $35,000. There are no restrictions on how you can use the funds, so you can spend the money on anything you want.
• Lengthy terms. You’ll be able to lock in a term starting at 36 months or 60 months to help bring your monthly payments down. Only extend the life of your loan if you need to.
• No early re-payment penalties or fees. If your budget allows, you can even pay off your goPeer Personal Loan earlier without facing any prepayment penalties.
• 15-day grace period. If you experience an unexpected event, you can take up to 15 days to make your repayment without facing penalty or impacting your credit score.
• Many loan purposes. You can get a goPeer Personal Loan to consolidate debt, improve your home, purchase or repair a car, cover medical expenses and more.

What to watch out for

With any loan you take, you should always pay attention to the potential red flags. Here’s what to keep in mind with a goPeer Personal Loan:

• Steep interest rates. While interest rates start at 8.99% they can creep up to 34.99% if your credit isn’t in great shape.
• No in-person customer service. Because goPeer is an online-only lender, you won’t have a bricks-and-mortar storefront to visit for any in-person assistance. However, it does emphasize its great customer service over the phone and via email.
• One-time origination fee. Borrowers need to pay a one-time origination fee for their loan, that’s worked into their APR. When you apply for a goPeer Personal Loan, the loan offer you receive is assigned a grade ranging from A to E, based on your credit history. An A grade, for example, comes with a fee of 0.5% while an E grade comes with an origination fee of 5%. A full range of origination fees and interest rates is available on its website.
• Other fees and charges. A goPeer Personal Loan has a string of other fees to watch out for too, including unsuccessful payment fees, late payment fees and cheque processing fees. A full list of charges and fees is available on its website.
• Strict eligibility criteria. While other online lenders offer bad credit loans, goPeer only considers borrowers whose finances are in good shape. Only apply for a goPeer Personal Loan if you can meet its requirements.

Summary of goPeer reviews

Feature	Details
BBB accredited	No
BBB rating	A+
BBB customer reviews	5 out of 5 stars, based on 1 goPeer review
Trustpilot score	3.4 out of 5 stars, based on 3 goPeer reviews
Google reviews	4.6 out of 5 stars, based on 57 goPeer reviews
Customer reviews verified as of	February 16, 2023

Alternatives to goPeer loans

Am I eligible for a goPeer Personal Loan?

To be eligible for a goPeer Personal Loan, you’ll need to meet the following requirements:

• The age of majority in your province (18 or 19 depending on the province).
• Canadian resident for a minimum of 3 years.
• A good credit history with a score over 600.
• Proof of a regular source of income. Your annual income must be more than $15,000 (recommended minimum is $40,000), and it must not be employment insurance or CERB.
• No bankruptcy in the last 12 months.
• Minimum of 3 credit accounts (“trade lines”) on your credit file (e.g. credit cards, line of credit, car loans, mortgage)
• Debt-to-income (DTI) ratio less than 35%.
• A valid email address, mailing address, phone number and bank account.

How to apply for a goPeer Personal Loan?

You can apply for a goPeer Personal Loan on your desktop or mobile phone. The whole application process shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes to complete:

1. Click the green ‘Go to site’ button to be securely redirected to the goPeer online application form.
2. Indicate how much you would like to borrow from $1,000 up to $35,000.
3. Identify the purpose of your loan (debt consolidation, bills and expenses, home renovations, education, travel etc.)
4. Provide your name and email address to create a goPeer account. goPeer will send a verification link to your email to register your account.
5. Fill out the questionnaire about your personal situation. You will need to plug in personal details, including your full name, date of birth, phone number, social insurance number, and mailing address.
6. Click “Finish”.
7. goPeer will ask if you consent to a hard credit check and you will answer a trio of questions about your financial history to verify your identity. Once that’s completed, your loan application is submitted.
8. Log in to your goPeer dashboard to look at loan offers provided to you.

How much will a goPeer Personal Loan cost?

Your interest rates will vary depending on factors like your credit score and loan term. That said, you can expect to pay a minimum interest rate of 8.99% on your loan up to a maximum of 34.99%.

So let’s say you get $5,000 personal loan from goPeer, and you’re approved for a 15.9% rate on a 3 year (36 month) loan term. In that example, your monthly payment would be $175.54. You would end up paying back $6,319.38 in total, which includes $1,319.38 paid towards interest alone.

Bottom line

goPeer is an innovative way to borrow money because instead of getting a loan from a big bank or financial institution, your funds are provided by fellow Canadians. The interest you pay on your loan is given to them directly, which is a nice touch too. However, it’s still important to shop around for personal loans because if you have a good or excellent credit score, you’ll have access to many loan options and potentially lower interest rates.

Compare more personal loans

Overall representative example
If you borrowed $20,000 over a 5-year term at 9.50% APR (variable), you would make 60 monthly payments of $420.04 and pay $25,202.23 overall, which includes interest of $5,202.23. The overall cost for comparison is 9.50% APR representative.