Swaper Review Summary
Swaper is a user-friendly P2P platform offering short-term loans backed by a buyback guarantee. However, the platform's limited loan availability may result in cash drag. Additionally, Swaper lacks transparency. Despite these drawbacks, investors can earn up to 16% per year by utilizing the 2% bonus.
Main takeaways from our Swaper review:
- Lack of transparency
- Easy-to-use platform
- Responsive support
- Unsecured loans with a 60-day buyback guarantee
Does Swaper sound like your kind of platform?
Or explore other P2P platforms.
What is Swaper?
Swaper is an Estonian peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform that lists pre-funded unsecured consumer loans from the Wandoo Finance Group and One Leasing from Northern Macedonia. Swaper offers a 60-day buyback guarantee and an Auto Invest feature.
Find out more about whether this P2P lending platform is a good fit for you in our Swaper review.
Our Opinion Of Swaper
Swaper has been able to protect investors' capital since the company launched in 2017. Investors didn't face any withdrawal difficulties due to force majeure events such as the pandemic in 2020 or the war in Ukraine in 2022.
While the platform isn't very transparent about sharing performance-oriented data, it seems that it has managed the risk well in the past.
A significant portion of their loans are issued in Poland, which changed the rules for funding consumer loan portfolios starting in 2024.
This change suggests that loans can no longer be funded via retail investors. While some competitors delisted loans from Poland, Swapper opted for a workaround enabling the platform to continue funding loans from Wandoo Finance in Poland.
This new workaround involves an intermediary company, SW Finance, licensed in Estonia. SW Finance is a loan originator offering business loans on Swaper to fund the Wandoo Finance group in Poland.
The company offers a 14% interest and a 60-day buyback guarantee.
The platform plans to use this new intermediary to fund Romania loans.
The regulatory change in Poland suggests that the source of funds for the loan book cannot come from retail investors.
While Swaper aims to make it seem like the money is coming from the intermediary, the source is still retail investors.
If the Polish regulator decides to enforce the new law, it could lead to the suspension of the Wandoo Finance Group's lending license in Poland, which would increase the risk for investors.
Swaper also offers investments in loans from Latvia (short-term) and Northern Macedonia (car loans backed by vehicles). Those two investments don't seem to be affected by increased regulatory risks.
While Swaper has been able to protect investors in the past, this does not indicate that this will always be the case, which is why investors should be cautious when investing on the platform.
Swaper Promo Code
Many P2P lending platforms offer new investors a cashback bonus or promo code. Swaper chooses a different bonus structure.
Active investors with an average portfolio size of over €25,000 over three months can receive a 2% loyalty bonus through an increased interest rate for their investments in Wandoo Finance and SW Finance loans.
You don't need any unique Swaper Promo Code to get your bonus.
Is this ticking your investment boxes?
Requirements
To sign up on Swaper, you must be over 18 and reside in the European Economic Area. You must also have a bank account listed in your name from your country of residence. You can also open a business account with Swaper if that interests you.
No EUR bank account? No problem
- 💳
- 💳
Transferring money to Swaper is equally quick and easy; it only took us one day to transfer our money from our N26 bank account using a SEPA transfer.
Risk & Return
When investing in P2P lending, you should be aware of the risks that come with it. Swaper has a business model similar to platforms such as PeerBerry or Robocash.
All platforms list primary loans from partners closely related to the founders of the P2P lending sites.
Swaper’s Buyback Guarantee
In cases where the borrower is late for their loan repayment by more than 60 days, the loan originators on Swaper will repurchase the claim that you (the investor) have with the borrower. This includes the invested principal and accrued interest.
Swaper’s buyback guarantee is the same protection scheme in many other P2P platforms.
Is Swaper Safe?
That’s one of every investor's most important questions before signing up and transferring funds to Swaper. In this section of our Swaper review, we will conduct due diligence about the platform’s team and their terms and conditions.
Let’s jump right into it.
Who Runs the Company?
In 2021, Swaper appointed a CEO, Indrek Puolokainen, to oversee the company's progress.
Who is the Company’s Legal Owner?
Finding the legal owner of Swaper required quite some effort as their website doesn’t provide any relevant information.
During our research, we found a name - Marina Tjulinova - in one of the Estonian business registries. She appears to be the platform owner, as stated in the latest financial report.
Marina Tjulinova owns Swaper Platform OU (Estonia), currently in the role of Head of Operations and an IT development company Neotech Development OU (Estonia).
The connection between Wandoo Finance and Swaper
Iveta Bruvele is the founder of Wandoo Finance SIA (Latvia) - which was involved in the launch of the Swaper platform.
Wandoo Finance SIA (Latvia) was looking for investments back in 2017, and Neotech Development OU (Estonia) was willing to provide it, for which the company became a shareholder of Wandoo Finance SIA (Latvia).
Marina Tjulinova is, therefore, a partial owner of Wandoo Finance.
Wandoo Finance launched Swaper SIA (Latvia) to fund its loans. The company then moved to Estonia for regulatory reasons, and Swaper Platform OU (Estonia) emerged.
Are There Any Suspicious Terms and Conditions?
Look at what we found when reading Swaper’s terms and conditions.
Clause 3.10 - Separation of Funds
In section 3.10, you can read how your funds are kept. We were not content with how Swaper phrased this clause as it was unclear that the funds are kept in segregated bank accounts.
We contacted Swaper, who confirmed that the company has two bank accounts. One for the funds of investors and the second for operational purposes. From an accounting perspective, investors’ funds appear as Swaper liabilities on its balance sheet.
Clause 3.11 - Withdrawals
In section 3.11, you learn that Swaper shall fulfill your positive balance's withdrawal request at any time. This means that in case Swaper should encounter “problems” with withdrawals, they are legally in trouble.
It takes two business days to process your withdrawal request with Swaper.
Clause 4.4 - Liability
Like with any P2P platform, Swaper isn’t responsible for any losses that might result from investing in loans through the platform.
This is a standard clause that you will find on any P2P lending site. There is always a chance of losing all of your investments.
Clause 6.9 - Amendements to T&C
Swaper gives you sixty days' notice before changing any T&C. This should give you enough time to review the amendments and evaluate how it can impact your investments.
We see this clause as positive, as many platforms reserve the right to amend any T&C without prior notice, which disadvantages investors.
Do Investors Have Access to Individual Assignment Agreements?
You can only view the assignment agreement before you invest manually or setup your Auto Invest portfolio.
After you have invested in one loan, you can view the assignment agreement under My Investments. Then, click on the small red arrow to download the document.
Unfortunately, Swaper does not provide a template of the assignment agreement to unregistered users, so you can’t review it before creating and verifying your account.
Also, the platform doesn’t offer the availability to view loan agreements for already repaid investments, whereas other platforms give you this flexibility.
As the terms and conditions can change, we encourage our readers to review the agreements before investing.
Potential Red Flags
- Swaper uses a workaround to finance loans for the Wandoo Finance lending portfolio in Poland.
Usability
Swaper is very easy to use. The platform is aesthetically pleasing, with a modern look and all the essential features you’d expect. The navigation is intuitive, and you can find everything you need with a few clicks.
Auto Invest
Swaper, similar to many other P2P lending platforms, allows you to automate your investments. Setting up your Swaper Auto Invest feature takes no more than one minute. You can choose the following diversification options:
- Portfolio size
- Investment period
- Interest
- Investment amount per loan
- Minimum account balance
- Countries (Poland, Georgia, Denmark, Spain, Russia)
- Loan characteristics
You can also choose whether to reinvest your returns. After you have defined your preferences, save your settings and let Swaper do the rest.
Swaper App
If you prefer to use native apps for Android and iOS, you can download the Swaper mobile app and manage your investments from anywhere.
🧾Does Swaper deduct taxes?
Swaper doesn't deduct taxes from your earnings. You can download an income statement for the chosen period, which you can submit to your tax authorities when you file your taxes in the country where you have your tax residency.
Liquidity
Swaper offers the option to exit the platform before the end of the loan term with its secondary market.
Secondary Market
Swaper makes withdrawing your money easy. You can sell your investments on the secondary market if you wish to withdraw your money before the end of the loan period.
However, note that trading on the secondary market isn’t something that you should practice regularly, as you’ll often sell your claims for a discounted price.
Support
Swaper’s customer support is very responsive. When we contacted the team, they responded within one hour.
Swaper’s customer support team can be contacted via live chat on their website browser or by email at info@swaper.com. If you prefer to chat over the phone, call them Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Swaper Alternatives
While Swaper offers attractive returns and has managed to protect investors' interests so far, the platform isn't very transparent about its lenders' financial performance, nor is it regulated. Those are just a few reasons you should consider some suitable alternatives.
Fintown
If you want to secure a higher interest over a longer period, Fintown might be a good fit. The Czech-based platform uses your funds to develop real estate rental properties in Prague.
The yield you receive is generated through rental income and is not affected by harsh regulatory rules like lending portfolios in Poland.
Learn more about how to earn up to 14% interest annually in our Fintown review.
Esketit
Esketit is one of the best-performing P2P lending platforms in Europe. Since 2020, it has paid more than €8M in interest to its investors with no capital loss.
The platform offers broad diversification options and attractive interest rates of up to 12% annually. Learn more about this platform in our Esketit review.
LANDE
If you want to invest your funds on a regulated platform, LANDE might be just the right option. This Latvian platform secures your investments with collateral, which can be liquidated if the borrower doesn't repay the loan.
The platform offers a variety of investment opportunities that yield up to 12% per year. Learn more about LANDE in our LANDE review.
