Blink and you’d have missed it. “Don’t go in in a big way until you’ve tested the water,” she says.Given the prevalence of cheap unsecured personal loans available on the high street – as low as 5.7 per cent in some cases – demand from borrowers will depend on there being better rates on offer.Richard Mason of the price- comparison website money-supermarket says the service could encourage those with poor credit ratings, and facing expensive rates on high-street loans, to investigate their chances of being offered credit on Zopa instead.”[However], it’s likely at pres-ent that their options will be similar to the main market.”. Groups including the Consumer Credit Counselling Service and National Consumer Council (NCC) urge caution – especially with consumer debt in the UK running at an all-time high.Lenders and borrowers who get involved are taking “a leap in the dark”, according to an NCC spokeswoman. Rates as high as 6 per cent a year are available from a fixed-rate mini cash individual savings account (ISA).The Zopa website is authorised by City regulator the Financial Services Authority and has a credit licence granted by the Office of Fair Trading.But if you think this all sounds risky, you’re not alone. This amounts to 40 per cent of the population, Zopa estimates.Individual borrowers can take out anything from a minimum of £2,000 to a maximum of £15,000 – the sort of sums available from banks – but lenders can offer substantially more: £25,000. However, they won’t be offering a lump sum to just one individual; this is down to the way the system works, how Zopa manages the lenders’ money, and the tight limits it places on exposure to debt.Therefore, although lenders might have £2,000 to put into the mix, the most that will be routed to any one borrower is actually capped at £200.

Step forward the Zone of Possible Agreement (Zopa) an online lending exchange, unveiled last week, that hopes to cash in on consumers fed up with poor service and high charges from their bank.
Whether you’re looking for a loan or have a few thousand pounds spare that you’re happy to lend to others at a rate of interest set by you, the website – founded by Richard Duvall, the man behind the online bank Egg – will provide the service. There isn’t much you can’t buy on the web – and that now includes a stranger’s money. Remember, though, that you can only do this if you are a UK taxpayer.You could also consider taking out a regular credit card that gives you cashback. At the end of the year, simply donate the equivalent amount to your preferred charity.Cashback deals range from 0.5 per cent to 2 per cent. A price comparison website such as Moneysupermarket will help you find the best ones Watch out for sliding scales, though. Morgan Stanley’s Platinum Mastercard, for example, currently pays 2 per cent cashback on the first £2,000 spent, but the rate drops to 1 per cent thereafter It also carries an APR of 17.9 per cent..

Every £1 you donate secures another 28p from the Inland Revenue. If you’re in the near third of Britons who fail to clear their debts each month, your gesture of goodwill could end up costing you dear.Many charity cards now carry 0 per cent introductory rates like mainstream offers but, also like their high-street brethren, they switch to a higher rate later.Standard APRs to watch out for at the end of six-month 0 per cent deals include 17.9 at both the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and Help the Aged.Of course, those who religiously pay off their credit-card debt every month don’t have to worry about such rates.There are obviously far more effective ways to give to charity, such as direct donations via Gift Aid. However, it is always worth checking the rates on any such card you take out. But it does at least offer the best rate on donations with each purchase.