Debitum Network Review

What is Debitum Network?

Based in Latvia, Debitum Network is a peer-to-business lending platform that has been established in 2018. It connects small businesses globally that are looking for funding with investors. However, it is not that simple. These businesses need money to grow, and they acquire funding from local loan originators in exchange for collateral. Before a loan is listed on the platform, it is assessed by an independent third-party risk assessor. What Debitum Network is trying to achieve is to create a decentralized ecosystem in SME lending, offering a hybrid solution to finance SMEs in fiat currency. The minimum investment in a single loan is only €10, but the minimum funding deposit is €500, and all loans are listed in EUR with an average rate of 10.14%. They are currently working with brokers originating loans to businesses in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and the Czech Republic.

Rates

The average rate on Debitum Network is 10.14%, which is well within range of what you should expect. Most loans on the platform have different interest rates on the period that the loan is current and the period that the loan is late. The “penalty” rate, as they call it, is on top of the “Annual Interest Rate”, so if the loan is late the rate can be as high as 15%. You don’t have to go to a different page to find out whether the loan originator is paying interest on late payments as on most loans the penalty rate is much higher than the regular rate.

Loans

All loans on the platform are financing small businesses, and you will be able to find plenty of asset-backed loans. According to Debitum Network, by providing short-term financing to small businesses, lenders can reduce their risk of default as well as enjoy fast turnover and compounding interest.

Loan liquidity

Debitum Network regularly adds new loans and some of them are rather large, so it’s unlikely that you will experience cash drag.

Buyback Guarantee

In case the borrower delays the installment payment for the loan for a period exceeding 90 calendar days, the loan originator that issued this loans is obliged to immediately buy back your share in the investment in the amount of outstanding principal of the claim plus any interest accrued for the period you held the loan. Keep in mind that the interest for the period that the loan is considered late could be significantly higher than the interest rate when the loan is current so pay attention to the default rate when you invest in the platform. When the loan is late, the interest rate is higher due to the outstanding interest plus penalty rate. Investors get more money if the loan is late. Investors get all the interest, plus penalty rate. So, the longer than usual period before the loan is bought back actually works to our advantage.

Auto-Invest

Debitum Network offers the option of auto-investing. You can customize your own strategy or choose from the three templates that are pre-made and available on the platform.

Risks

Since most loans on Debitum Network come with Buyback Guarantee, the risk is whether the loan originator will be able to fulfill their promise to you. For more information about peer- to-peer lending risks, please check the “What Is Peer-to-Peer Lending” article. However, the good thing with this platform is that all loans are secured against assets.

Secondary Market

Currently, Debitum Network doesn’t have a secondary market or an option to exit your investment prematurely, but most of their loans are short term so if your time horizon is short, steer clear of the loan term loans.

Fees

As usual with crowdlending platforms, Debitum Network charges no fees for investing in their platform.

How Did Debitum Network During The Pandemic

Debitum Network was virtually unaffected by the pandemic. It seems that their “safe” investment proposition that they marketed to their investors did work.

Debitum Network Sign Up Process

The sign-up process is pretty simple. You can click here (don’t enter the promo code “1MIW2” to receive a 10 EUR bonus when you invest over 250 EUR) and go through the steps as they are on the screenshots below. It just asks for some general information and to verify your email, and you don’t have to upload any documents until the moment you wish to make a withdraw. The entire process is pretty fast, and it only takes a couple of minutes.

Competitors

You might also want to check platforms check platforms like Mintos, Lenndy, ViaInvest, Viventor, FastInvest, Robo.cash, and Swaper. Also, if you want to try something riskier, you can try Bondora. You can click here to check all of my platform reviews and here to check the overview and bonuses that some of the provide.