What Splendit does

Splendit is a Swiss peer-to-peer crowdlending marketplace that connects students seeking education financing with private individual investors willing to fund those loans at auction-determined interest rates. Built on Symfony2 with Swiss-hosted servers and SSL encryption, the platform runs an auction mechanism in which students publish loan requests specifying amount, maximum interest rate, interest-only period, and amortization period, while investors place competing bids with an optional automated bidding assistant that steps bids in 0.25% increments. All payment flows are processed through a dedicated PostFinance escrow-style settlement account (IBAN CH68 0900 0000 1529 3319 6) segregated from company operating accounts, and international students studying abroad receive disbursements via blockchain through a partnership with Lykke. The operator, Switzerlend AG, is licensed as a regulated financial intermediary under SRO PolyReg and supervised by FINMA under the Swiss Anti-Money Laundering Act.

The company monetizes through three core fees: a CHF 10 monthly platform fee charged to borrowers during the active loan term (billed quarterly), a one-time 2% transaction fee on each investor's contributed loan amount at disbursement, and a CHF 5 identification fee per full-user registration; reminder and default-related fees (CHF 25 per reminder, 5% p.a. default interest) act as a secondary collection-oriented stream. Pricing is interest-independent, meaning Splendit does not earn from loan interest itself; rates are determined purely by auction supply and demand. The go-to-market motion is product-led and community-led: students and investors self-register online, run their own auctions, and the platform verifies enrollment documents directly with partner universities including ETH Zurich, University of St. Gallen, University of Zurich, FHNW, IMD Lausanne, and University of Geneva. Marketing is concentrated in earned Swiss press coverage (NZZ, SRF, Weltwoche, Prisma) and organic social.

Since launch in November 2014, Splendit has facilitated over CHF 4.5 million in financing for more than 200 students across 20 Swiss universities and Fachhochschulen, with a 95.8% auction success rate, a volume-weighted average nominal interest rate of 6.5%, average loan duration of 5-6 years, and zero recorded credit defaults. The team of 1-10 employees is led by co-founders Michel Lalive d'Epinay (a Swiss attorney) and Florian Kübler (a former bond trader), supported by an advisory board including the former President of ETH Zurich and a Yale economics professor.

Name

Splendit

Legal name

Switzerlend AG

Website

https://splendit.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Splendit is a Swiss FINMA-regulated peer-to-peer marketplace that auctions education loans between students and private individual investors, operating on a Symfony2 platform with dedicated PostFinance settlement and a recorded zero-default track record across CHF 4.5 million of facilitated student financing since 2014.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Peer-to-peer student lending

NAICS

Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers (52231), Activities Related to Credit Intermediation (5223), Consumer Lending (522291)

SIC

Loan Brokers (6163)

akta.pro primary industry

Student Loan Marketplace Lending (FSAKAHAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

P2P Loan Syndication & Participation Platforms (FSAKAHAL), Marketplace & Loan Aggregation Platforms (Borrower-Lender Matching) (FSAGAHAL)

Keywords

• Peer-to-peer lending
• Student loan platform
• Education financing
• Crowdlending marketplace
• P2P student loans

Headquarters

HQ city

Zürich

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Borrower Platform Fee: A monthly usage fee of CHF 10 charged to borrowers for the duration of their student loan, invoiced quarterly alongside interest and amortisation payments. This fee covers quality control, monitoring, payment processing, and member support.
2. Investor One-off Fee: A one-time fee of 2% of each individual loan amount contributed by an investor at the time of loan disbursement. This is the primary revenue source from the investor side.
3. Identification Fee: A one-time identification fee of CHF 5 charged when a user registers as a Full User (either borrower or lender), covering identity verification and anti-money laundering compliance.
4. Reminder and Late Payment Fees: Reminder fee of CHF 25 per reminder for late payments. Default interest of 5% p.a. applies. Additional hourly rate of CHF 250 for work caused by default or misuse.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Splendit operates a peer-to-peer online auction platform that connects Swiss-based students seeking education financing with private individual investors. Students publish loan requests specifying the amount, maximum interest rate, interest period, and repayment period; investors place competing bids in auctions, with lower interest rates winning and ties broken by earlier bid timestamps. Splendit does not lend its own funds and earns revenue from platform and transaction fees, while providing identity verification, document management, payment processing, dunning, and full loan lifecycle administration.

Product overview

Splendit is a single, unified peer-to-peer crowdfunding platform for student education financing in Switzerland. The platform connects students seeking loans with private investors through an auction-based lending model. Students apply for loans specifying amount, maximum interest rate, interest period, and repayment period; investors bid in auctions to fund loans. The platform provides payment processing, identity verification, document management, and loan monitoring services throughout the loan lifecycle.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Splendit Student Loan Platform P2P lending marketplace that connects Swiss students seeking education financing with private individual investors through an auction-based loan pricing model. Includes identity verification, document management, auction-based loan origination, and full loan lifecycle administration (payment processing, dunning, and collections). Operated by Switzerlend AG, regulated by SRO PolyReg under FINMA supervision.

Quantifiable outcome

• 95.8% of published auctions are successfully financed
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• eggheads.chminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSplendit integrates eggheads.ch ratings into its platform. eggheads.ch is a Swiss startup that lists over 1,500 courses for education and continuing education, rated by graduates. These independent ratings help students evaluate programs and help investors assess the quality of the educational investment they are funding.
• SRO PolyRegcoreOthersSwitzerlend AG (Splendit operator) is a member of SRO PolyReg, which is in turn subject to supervision by FINMA (Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority). This regulatory membership is a prerequisite for operating as a financial intermediary under Swiss AML legislation.
• PostFinancecoreOthersAll payment flows between borrowers and lenders are processed through a dedicated settlement account at PostFinance (IBAN CH68 0900 0000 1529 3319 6). This account is fully autonomous from Splendit's operating accounts and used exclusively for processing member payments.
• Educational Institutions (Universities and Fachhochschulen)coreOthersSplendit verifies student enrollment confirmations, transcripts, and certificates directly with educational institutions including University of Geneva, IMD Lausanne, University of St. Gallen (HSG), University of Zurich, FHNW, ETH Zurich, and others. This verification forms the basis of investor trust in loan applications.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Lendico: Swiss and German P2P lending marketplace operated by Arrow Global (formerly part of Zalando's fintech arm). Operates a similar borrower-lender matching platform for consumer and SME loans in CHF and EUR; directly comparable marketplace model and Swiss regulatory regime.
• Prodigy Finance: Cross-border student loan platform funding international masters and MBA students at top business schools (including IMD). Uses a community-lending model with investor pools; closest functional analog to Splendit's education-loan marketplace, though operating at larger global scale.

Broad incumbents

• SoFi: US-based student loan refinance and broader consumer lending platform founded on alumni-funded student loans. While US-only and now a full-stack financial services incumbent, it represents the scaled version of Splendit's alumni/investor-funded education lending thesis.
• CommonBond: US student loan refinance and MBA-program lender with a social-impact angle akin to Splendit's positioning. Comparable in mission and product focus on education lending, though operating at significantly larger scale in the US market.
• Funding Circle: Established UK-origin P2P marketplace lending platform for SME loans, publicly listed and operating at significant scale. Comparable marketplace intermediation model and regulatory oversight, but focuses on business rather than student loans.
• LendingClub: US-based publicly listed P2P consumer lending marketplace, one of the largest by originations. Useful comparison for marketplace P2P operating model, regulatory compliance, and unit economics, though oriented toward US consumer credit rather than student loans.

Regional players

• AUXmoney: Germany's largest P2P consumer lending marketplace, operating under BaFin supervision. Comparable to Splendit in serving German-speaking Europe with a regulated P2P consumer lending model, though focused on broader consumer credit rather than the education vertical.
• Younited Credit: French-regulated P2P consumer lending marketplace operating across multiple European countries under local banking licenses. Comparable cross-border P2P consumer credit model and regulated status, though focused on broader consumer rather than specifically education lending.

Others

• Lykke: Swiss-based blockchain exchange and fintech infrastructure provider that Splendit integrates with for international student payouts. Adjacent infrastructure partner rather than a competitor, but useful for understanding cross-border crypto rails in education lending.

Emerging players

• Peerform (now BFS Capital): Historical peer-to-peer lending platform that has gone through multiple iterations in the unsecured consumer credit space. Comparable marketplace P2P model and unsecured loan focus, though with limited relevance to the education vertical Splendit operates in.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/splendit_
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCZL0XZRhRtasUACDHtTkI_A
• Facebookfacebook.com/splendit.ch
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/5899938
• Instagraminstagram.com/splendit_ch

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Splendit