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FAQ

1. Do not invest your savings for unexpected costs
  • Peer-to-peer investments give you the opportunity to receive better profitability in comparison to deposits, in exchange for a slightly higher risk. Sounds great! But it is only worth trying, if the amount of your savings exceeds the amount required for emergencies.
  • We recommend you keep your buffer for unexpected costs in your current account, so that it can be at your disposal at all times.
2. Allocate your funds among as many loans as possible
  • It is our responsibility to select creditworthy clients and to determine their interest rate depending on the risk segment they belong to. Investors are expected to receive the average profitability for the platform.
  • If you want your profitability as close to the average as possible, you need to invest in numerous loans – at least 50.
3. Do not leave any available funds in your HelpLending account
  • You only get returns on the funds you invested in loans. If you leave any available funds in your HelpLending account for a long period of time, you will miss out on opportunities.
  • We recommend that you check your profile regularly, so that you can reinvest the available funds in new loans. This is important, as you will receive small amounts for the loans you invested in on a daily basis.
  • Once you are familiar with the operation of the platform, the most efficient way is to set the automatic investment tool. You set your investment strategy and the tool will automatically invest on your behalf every time you have available funds in your account and a loan meeting your criteria appears.
4. Know when you want to get your money back
  • If you are investing for the purpose of securing long-term savings for your retirement, there is no need to take the loan duration into account.
  • But if you have an important upcoming event, for instance, in 3 years, you would do best to invest in loans with a repayment period of less than 3 years. Moreover, reinvest the received monthly payments in new loans with increasingly shorter periods.
5. Invest in the secondary market when you have enough experience
  • The secondary market was not built with the aim of making (or losing) quick cash, like the stock market. Its purpose is to ensure the opportunity for investors to sell their loan portfolio if they need their money earlier than expected.
  • The investors can sell their loans at different prices. So be careful, as it is not easy to determine whether you are making a good deal in the secondary market or not. We try to help through an evaluation model, but we only recommend using the secondary market after you are fully aware of how the platform and the model function.
  • It is not, as the loans are granted by Help Credit, which is a registered non-bank financial institution. The investors do not implement any lending activity. They acquire rights from Help Credit to receive payments for the loans proportional to the amount they invested under an Agreement of Cession.
  • This does not contradict the effective legislation, as there are no legal constraints for the transfer of rights between the parties.
Peer-to-peer investment and lending platforms are nothing new. They were created 10 years ago. Since then, the industry has grown and numerous good practices have been established. The main operational rules and requirements set by UK’s Peer-to-Peer Finance Association are well received and applied constantly by platforms across the globe. However, financial fraud and collapses can occur anywhere, regardless of regulations and audits – CCB, Greece, Enron, Bernard Madoff, etc. What we can do and what we will demonstrate is absolute transparency:
  • We stake our name on what we do.
  • We have no backstage owners or funding – the origin of our funds is clear and demonstrable.
  • We will provide clear information to the borrowers and investors without hiding the risks related to the investment.
  • All the financial information related to our business will be publicly available and our main auditors will be you.
  • Even though at a glance mutual funds and our peer-to-peer investment and lending platform look similar, there are in fact enormous and significant differences between them:
  • Criteria for receiving a loan
    In order to receive a loan from the mutual fund, you need to have deposited money first. There is no such condition with peer-to-peer lending. Everyone meeting the requirements can apply for a loan.
  • As a lender, we assess the probability of the borrower not paying their loan obligations based on information from the National Social Security Institute, the Central Credit Register and the data declared by them.
  • Transparency regarding the deposited funds
    In mutual funds, money is collected in a common pool and the Managing Board decides who can receive a loan, i.e. where the money will go. In our platform, each investor has their own portfolio and they make their own decisions as to which loans to participate in with funding.
  • There is absolute transparency, as everyone knows where their money is at any time and they can follow the progression of the loans. In addition, the investor only participates after the loans have been granted, i.e. they do not contribute to the lending process.
  • Through our platform, you can invest in consumer loans. You purchase the right to receive the monthly payments the borrowers repay their debt with.
  • Each monthly instalment includes proportional part of the principal (the amount you invested in the respective loan) and the interest (the actual profitability).
  • Regardless of whether you are a taxpayer in Bulgaria or not, the profits from Peer-to- peer investment are subject to taxation.
  • Profits from the platform can be realised in two ways: from interest on loans and from capital gains from deals on the Secondary Market. Both types of profits are subject to taxation and they must be declared by the taxable person – the investor. There is no minimum profit declaration threshold in Bulgaria.
  • As an investor, you are liable of declaring your profits in your annual tax return and of paying the tax imposed on them.
  • HelpLending will provide each investor with an earnings report for the profits they received from p2p investments during the year. This is the tax base to be entered into the annual tax return.
Profits from investments in the platform can be realised in two ways: from interest on loans and from capital gains from deals on the Secondary Market. Both types of profits are subject to taxation and there is no minimum profit declaration threshold in Bulgaria.
The tax rate in Bulgaria is 10%. If you are not a Bulgarian taxpayer, check the tax rate in your country of residence.
The following individuals can invest in the platform:
  • Individuals over the age of 18.
  • Citizens and taxpayers of/in the European Union or the European Economic Area
  • Holders of a bank account in the European Union or the European Economic Area
  • Individuals whose identity has been confirmed by HelpLending
Individuals who live, reside and pay their taxes in the USA cannot invest.
Investments are done in BGN, EUR and USD.
  • The investors do not owe any fees.
  • Here, at HelpLending, we only have a single service fee which we charge the borrowers upon funding their loan.
The duration of the investment depends on the repayment period of the loans you invest in. It can be from 1 to 60 months.
You will receive part of your money on a monthly basis. This will continue until the last maturity date for the loans you invested in. The loans we grant have equal monthly instalments. The instalments include part of the granted principal and the interest payable for the month.
  • If the borrower pays in arrears, you will not receive your money on time either. In the event of early repayment, you will receive your money earlier than expected.
  • If the loan is declared irrecoverable, you will only receive a partial return on the funds you invested. Its amount will depend on the price the collector agency is willing to pay.
  • In the event of permanent disability for the borrower, the entire remaining debt shall be remitted and you will not receive further payments for this loan.
This is the amount which borrowers owe you at present.
It includes 3 components:
  • Remaining principal of the loan
    The monthly instalment for this amount shall decrease with each passing month. If the borrower delays an instalment, the overdue principal shall be included in the remaining principal.
  • Overdue interest
    Overdue interest only exists when there has been a delay in the payment of the loan. It is the amount of the interest which has already been accrued but has yet to be paid.
  • Accrued interest
    This is the interest accrued from the last maturity date of the loan until the present day. We calculate it on a daily basis, however, the borrower pays it once per month with their instalment. Until the maturity date, the accrued interest is increased daily, after which its value drops to 0 again.
The payable amount is the most important loan amount. This is the amount you pay for a purchase (if you are purchasing a loan without a markup or a discount).
The payable amount changes after the partial purchase of the loan. The payable amount shall be increased with the accrued interest on a daily basis until the maturity date. Once the borrower pays their payment on the maturity date, the payable amount shall be decreased with the payment amount.
  • The market is arranged by date of publishing of the loan with the most recent ones always on top.
  • The investment button has different statuses to help give you an idea.
  • We have also put a limit on the loan share. You cannot purchase more than 30% of one loan. We created this rule to guarantee at least a minimum level of loan fragmentation among the clients.
  • We also have a limit for the minimum transaction amount – BGN 10.
The main market is the place where you need to begin investing. The secondary market is for users who already have experience in HelpLending investments.

The main market publishes:
Recently funded loans which are being sold by Help Credit. For some of them, one or several maturity dates may have already passed (the maturity date is the date by which the borrower must make their monthly instalment), however, loans will always be paid regularly in any case (without arrears).
  • Loans sold by the investors. They also are without arrears.
All these loans are being sold at their regular price, i.e. without a markup or discount.

The secondary market includes:
  • Loans currently in arrears or loans which have experienced serious payment difficulties in the past.
  • Loans for which the investors have added a markup or a discount in the price (regardless of the payment history).
We have developed a model which assesses what the fair price for the sale of loans is.
  • You need to transfer money from the bank account you provided during your registration in HelpLending.
  • This bank account must be in your name and in a bank from the EU/EEA.
  • If the account is not in BGN, you will have to transfer the money in EUR. As soon as we receive the money we will convert it to BGN according to the current exchange rate of our service bank.
  • THE ESSENTIAL PART!
    In order for us to know who is providing the money and what they are using it for, you have to enter the number of you HelpLending account in the Reason for Payment field. You can find it in your profile on the website.
  • Here are the details for the transfer, if you are transferring money from a bank account in BGN:
    Recipient bank First Investment Bank
    Recipient name Help Credit AD
    Recipient IBAN BG65 FINV 9150 1015 4554 84
    In bank First Investment Bank
    BIC FINVBGSF
    Reason for the transfer Your account number at HelpLending
  • If your bank account is not in BGN, you will have to transfer the money in EUR. We will convert it into BGN upon receipt.
  • The Bulgarian lev has been pegged to the Euro since 2001 and it has a fixed exchange rate: 1EUR=1.95583BGN according to the exchange rate of the BNB.
  • The purchase of EUR will be done at the exchange rate applied by the service bank: 1 EUR = 1.951 BGN, which equals a 0.25% commission. HelpLending does not collect fees and it does not add margins.
  • The purchase of USD will be made at the exchange rate applied by our servicing bank and apply a 0.25% commission for protection against currency differences. HelpLending does not charge a fee or add a margin.
  • During the transfer we recommend you choose the SEPA transfer option, if possible.
    If you can select the method for covering the transfer costs, we recommend the SHA option.
  • IMPORTANT!In order for us to know who is providing the money and what they are using it for, you have to enter the number of you HelpLending account account in the Reason for Payment field. You can find it in your profile on the website.
  • Here are the details for the transfer, if you are transferring money from a bank account in foreign currency:
    Recipient bank Paysera, JSC
    Recipient name Help Credit AD
    Recipient IBAN LT22 3500 0100 0296 9971
    In bank Paysera, JSC, Menulio st. 7, Vilnius,LT-04326, Lithuania
    BIC EVIULT21XXX
    Reason for the transfer Your account number at HelpLending
You can withdraw the available funds in your HelpLending account at any time. Simply select the amount you want to withdraw from your profile.

Be aware that:
  • If your account is in BGN, you are entitled to one free withdrawal per month. The bank transfer price for every subsequent withdrawal within the month shall be determined by the rates of our service bank.
  • If your account is in currency other than BGN, we will first convert your amount into EUR using the current exchange rates of our service bank and after that we will deduct the amounts for the international transfer (also according to the rates of our service bank).
  • Every time a borrower makes a due payment, we will transfer your share to your HelpLending account.
  • It is up to you whether you decide to reinvest these funds in new loans or to withdraw it.
  • Automatic investing is an easy and effective acclimatisation of your investment strategy. This tool will invest the newly available funds or reinvest already paid amounts to your account. The only thing you have to do is set your filters and investment criteria and activate it.
  • Automatic investing checks whether there are available loans on the Main Market meeting your requirements on the hour. If such are found, it will automatically invest in them the amount pre-set by you. If not, it will check again on the next hour.
  • The criteria for automatic investing can be changed at any time, in which case the renewed criteria will be applied during the next processing on the hour. The automatic investing can also be stopped and relaunched at any time.
  • Automatic investing starts processing every hour, on the hour. The algorithm selects loans published on the Main Market according to the criteria set by the investors. These are recently granted loans or loans which are being repaid without arrears.
  • The system calculates the total amount the investors would like to purchase from a specific loan, as well as what remaining funds are available for investments. When there are too many investors for a particular loan, the system will choose who can purchase loan shares at random.
  • The algorithm selects loans published on the Main Market according to the pre-set criteria. It might not find appropriate loans for investing if you have entered too many filters for the loan.
  • Try reducing the number of filters and you will increase the probability of investing your funds.