Hannes Bushman

As interest rates remain stuck at 0.01%, it’s likely you’re looking at places to put your money that actually beat inflation and grow your hard-earned savings.

Lending money online for profit is an investment strategy that’s been around for a while (it’s pretty much what banks do) but didn’t really take off until the financial crisis in 2008 when banks shut the door on businesses and individuals who needed loans.

The internet came along and produced a marketplace so people could loan money to each other, and skip the banks – hence, peer to peer lending. Thanks to the internet, you can now act as a bank, loan your money to strangers, and make a decent profit on it.

Over 10 years later, lending money online to others is a strategy that is still going strong.

At Swaper, we offer a platform that allows you to invest by lending money online to other individuals securely and make a profit.

When you’re lending money online, you are essentially taking up the role of a bank or lender. These days, many businesses and individuals don’t want to go to banks to take out a loan because the requirements are too stringent or the fees are not worth it.

(Especially during periods of recessions, banks don’t like taking on too much risk, forcing people to go elsewhere).

Let us present you, an investor.

You are happy to lend your money to those people and businesses as long as they meet certain requirements and can pay an interest rate. The borrower is happy because they are charged fewer fees and are much more likely to be approved; you’re happy because that interest rate is your profit.

However, if you wanted to lend money to thousands of strangers, you would need to meet stringent financial requirements, follow specific country rules and might even be licensed. It’s a process that is a big hassle and requires a lot of upfront capital – you essentially need to set up a company in the financial sector.

And that’s where we come in: at Swaper, we went through all the hassle and set up a compliant and secure lending company. We’ve created the platform, secured the loans and collect the interest earned. As an investor, you just need to open an account and you can start investing immediately.

When you invest with Swaper, you’ll be lending your money to hundreds of people and we’ll act as the middle-man to make sure you get your money back along with profit.

By lending money online with us, you’ll get an expected annual return of 14% on your investment (although legally we cannot guarantee this). That’s not a bad deal when compared to the 0.01% you’re currently getting on your savings account…

Still interested? Here’s how you can get started.

At Swaper, we’ve made it incredibly easy to start lending money online.

Here’s a recommended step by step path to follow:

If you are new to the P2P investing world, it’s worth reading up on how the industry works, what the risks are and the essentials to getting started. As is the case with all types of investing, lending money online doesn’t come risk-free. We’ve put together a few resources to help you understand what p2p investing is all about. To quickly summarise, here are the main types of risk you must be aware of when you start lending money online:

We offer loans through a “loan originator” called Wandoo Finance Group. A loan originator is a company that acquires borrowers looking for a loan. Wandoo manages the loans with the borrowers from Poland, Denmark and Spain, and then “sells” those loans to us, Swaper.

There is always a risk that a borrower defaults on their loan – meaning they don’t repay on time. If the borrower does not repay on time, our buyback loan scheme kicks in and we refund the missing payments ourselves. You won’t lose your money, but there is a risk that it will take longer to reach your account.

At Swaper, we offer investors the opportunity to invest with both GBP and EUR accounts. There is less risk and fewer fluctuations if you stick to one currency as you’ll keep costs low. If you’re investing in a different currency, we offer the cheapest currency conversion rates with TransferWise.

What happens if Swaper goes bankrupt? The good news is that when you lend your money online with us, you are buying claim rights against the borrower based on an agreement. These agreements are not affected by Swaper, which means that they will still remain in place even if we go bankrupt – which is highly unlikely (but we understand your concerns).

These are three main types of risk you need to be aware of when you lend money to people online. With Swaper, we are one of the few P2P investing platforms that offer buyback on both the invested principal and interest accrued. You can learn more about P2P investing on our Swaper blog.

Once you understand the risks of lending money online and how P2P investing works, you’ll be ready to set up an account!

At Swaper, we’ve made it as simple as possible to get started. You’ll just need to click on “Open Investor Account” or “Sign Up” and then follow the steps. We’ll ask you for personal details and need to verify your identity with a passport and utility bill. We accept investors from all European countries, and you’ll be able to start investing with just 10€!

There are two main ways to invest in loans and lend money online: using the Auto-Invest function and manually picking the loans to invest in.

At Swaper, the auto-invest function makes it very easy to start lending and is our most popular feature. You just need to create an “auto-invest” portfolio and we will automatically invest in loans based on specific criteria. What do we mean by criteria? There are a few aspects of the loans you invest in which you can tweak and adjust:

If you don’t select any of the criteria, it will simply use the default criteria which are automatically set to maximise your return on your investments. You can also choose to invest in loans manually, which means picking the loans that you specifically want to invest in. This will require some research and more work on your part.

Once you start investing, you’re good to go! You can keep adding money to your Swaper account every month or add it as a lump sum whenever you want.

Want to sell and withdraw? You’ll get all your money back within 30 days, and an additional 30 days if there are any loans under the buyback.

Once everything has been sold, you can withdraw your money from Swaper and receive it all in your bank account within 2 business days.

It’s good practice to check your account and track your performance over time to see how your earnings accumulate.

We also recommend checking the Swaper blog every now and then so you know if we’re releasing any new features or loyalty bonuses. You can also download the Swaper P2P loan app so the loans you’re investing in are literally at your fingertips.

Thanks to Swaper, it’s now incredibly easy to lend money online for profit.

Medical facilities are offering Covid-19 PCR tests for free, or as low as Dh40, as schools are set to re-open after the summer holidays.

Students across the UAE will begin their new school year on August 29.

Pupils aged 12 and over, teaching and administrative staff, and service providers at government schools must obtain a negative PCR test result no more than 96 hours before the start of the new school year. However, private schools in Abu Dhabi and Dubai are yet to announce guidelines for the coming school year.

According to the Knowledge and Development Authority’s last updated guidelines, no testing requirements exist. However, healthcare experts advise parents to exercise caution and pupils with Covid-19 symptoms must stay at home or get tested.

Here is a list of places where Covid-19 tests are available for free or at low costs:

PCR test for free

UAE residents in specific eligible categories can get a PCR test free of charge at any Emirates Health Services (EHS) run centre across all seven Emirates. Appointments are by booking only. Residents can use the Covid-19 EHS app to take appointments and find locations of the centres.

Iranian Hospital Dubai

To facilitate a smooth start to the academic year, the Iranian Hospital in Dubai offers a special rate for Covid-19 PCR testing for Dh 50 only for students and educators in schools and universities. Present your student, teacher or employee ID card to take advantage of this special offer.

Seha Covid-19 screening centres at Dubai Parks and Al Khawaneej

SEHA is offering Covid-19 screenings for Dh50 or free for Emiratis. Results will come through within 48 hours, and residents can make appointments via the Seha app. Residents can visit the centres from 10am to 8pm.

First Response Healthcare

Instead of driving through Dubai traffic and queueing for a test at the mall, the nearest hospital, medical centre, clinic, or drive-through, First Response Healthcare (FRH) will send a nurse in PPE gear. Bookings can be made on the FHR website and are available for Dh99.

NMC Medical Centre, Deira and NMC Specialty Hospital Al Nahda

NMC Healthcare’s branches in Dubai offer PCR tests of Dh100 in Deira and Dh120 in Al Nahda.

NMC Medical Centre, Deira and NMC Specialty Hospital Al Nahda, 7am to 10pm.

Right Health Al Quoz Mall

With no appointments, those requiring PCR tests can walk into the Right Health centre at Al Quoz Mall for Dh90. Results are returned within 12 to 24 hours, and the certificate is valid for travel too.

Lifeline Modern Family Clinic

Long hours of wait in the testing centre can be avoided by just giving the centre a call to take a PCR test at home. Interested individuals can call on +971524061829 and book slots for Dh99.

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