Identity verification is a critical fraud prevention tool used by banks, credit card companies and other lenders.   Lending Club has recently begun to leverage the information available on social networks to help confirm a potential member’s identity.

We continue to rely on methods of identity verification used by traditional lenders, but in an era of online identity theft, Lending Club is continually redefining industry best practices.

We cannot disclose our exact methodology, practices, or sources of information, as this could simply empower the fraudsters we are trying to disarm. But what we can say is that we use information gathered from social networks to help give us more confidence that a member is in fact who they say they are.
When we do find a case of identity theft, we work with the true owner of the identify and law enforcement authorities to track down and prosecute anyone who has committed identity theft.  In addition, we will reimburse lenders for the unpaid principal balance of loans where we have confirmed that the borrower has committed identity theft.

As a financial services innovator, Lending Club is constantly assessing new methods to better secure our platform.  Identity confirmation measures are simply a next step in the evolution of financial services.
Our member’s privacy is our top concern.

Image courtesy of scansnap

Lending Club award-winning approach to investing and borrowing has been recognized through the years by organizations such as Harvard Business Review, Webby, WebAward, and W3 Awards.  But we had never been considered for something as unique as the Shorty Awards.

The Shorty Awards honor the best people and organizations creating content on Twitter. These unique awards are for the Twitter community, by the Twitter community to recognize the creators of the best "short" content, activity also known as "Micro-blogging".

So if you have a minute, help us rack up the votes:

Nominate @RobGarciaSJ in the #finance category.  Rob tweets hourly about microfinance, p2plending, personal finance and financial innovation

-OR-

Nominate @LendingClub in the #innovation category, our twitter account keeps our followers  updated on the latest trends, news and promotions about investing and borrowing via Lending Club

Voting ends on Friday January 29th at midnight.

Happy it tweeting!

I did not expect to be reminiscing about 2009 this early in the new year.  But I now find myself looking back and marveling at how Lending Club went from half-operating in 2008, to getting through the registration process with the SEC in October of 2008, to then become a world leader in peer-to-peer lending in 2009 due to a hugely successful year.

In 2009, Lending Club originated nearly $52 million dollars in loans while we turned away almost half a billion dollars in demand.   In December 2009 alone, Lending Club issued $7.1 million dollars in loans, more than 3 times the rest of the US industry combined (Total US P2P loan origination volume was $9.32 million dollars in December 2009).

In 2009, we accomplished other major feats:

• We hit $500 Million in loan demand
• Our Average Net Annualized returns remained above 9%
• We Launched the first and only No-Fee IRA for P2P investors
• We revolutionized the p2p investing user experience with new investor tools

All this growth and success were created by and for you, our community of savvy investors and borrowers, who continue to earn better-than-average returns or save hundreds of dollars on your monthly loan payments.

So what does 2010 have in store for us?  I believe that in 2010 we will continue to accelerate growth.  We feel that peer lending has reached a level of maturity, operates at a level of transparency and has a track record that makes it ready for prime time.  We are not the only ones that believe this fact, Gartner predicts that “[b]y 2013, P2P lending will soar at least 66 per cent to $5 billion of outstanding loans.”  See full report

So hop on, sign up if you haven’t already, and let’s make 2010 another great year to remember in 2011.

@RobGarciaSJ

Hundreds of people have already taken Lending Club's DebtBuster challenge and are on their way to pay off their debt once and for all...  and we still have 2 more weeks to go!

Help us get the word out and win a nifty t-shirt or some of the other cool Lending Club merchandise we got.  We have hundreds to give away... so get yours now.

What's Lending Club's DebBuster Challenge?
Right before the Christmas break, Lending Club announced our DebtBuster Challenge, in partnership with 5 of the best "DebtBuster” bloggers, to offer advice and encourage those with credit card and personal debt to commit to getting rid of it.  And this is the perfect time: most Americans turn their attention to their finances during the aftermath of the holiday season, just in time for the tax season.

How I Can I Spread the Word and Win?
From Friday, January 15 through Sunday, January 31, 2010, we will give away 1 Lending Club t-shirt for every 10 tweets.  All you need to do is:

1. Follow @LendingClub
2. Tweet a link to this post or to any DebtBuster article (List of articles here)
3. Include the hashtag #DebtBuster (so we can find your tweet)

That's it! Can't get any simpler than that can it?  Winners will be announced daily at 10am PT. Lending Club reserves the right to not consider tweets or twitter account that present suspicious and fraudulent behavior at our sole discretion.

6 sample tweets that will get you in:

>Take @LendingClub's #DebtBuster Challenge http://bit.ly/7WPGNn

>"Debt Consolidation – It Can Work" http://bit.ly/8VuqHu by #DebtBuster @MattJabs challenge

>"9 Rules To Get Out Of Debt" http://bit.ly/5lqj7A by #DebtBuster @DebtKid

>"Start the Decade Off Right: Pay Off Debt" http://bit.ly/8x4zYh by #DebtBuster @flexo

>"A Place to Get Real Loans to Consolidate Debt" http://bit.ly/6FWFC1 by #DebtBuster @GetOutOfDebtGuy

>"Debt Solutions To Break Out Of The Debt Cycle" http://bit.ly/8seGNH by #DebtBuster @TheDigeratiLife

Tweet often and good luck!
@RobGarciaSJ

Have you taken the Lending Club DebtBuster challenge yet? If not, we are happy to announce we are extending it until the end of the month.

Right before the Christmas break, Lending Club announced our DebtBuster Challenge, in partnership with 5 of the best "DebtBuster” bloggers, to offer advice and encourage those with credit card and personal debt to commit to getting rid of it.  And this is the perfect time: most Americans turn their attention to their finances during the aftermath of the holiday season, just in time for the tax season.

Lending Club offers a way out of debt: a no-hassle fixed rate personal loan at interest rates that are typically lower than those of a personal loan from a bank or credit cards.

Read up on How to Manage Your Debt
Our DebtBuster bloggers have been compiling some interesting write ups on how to consolidate, manage and reduce your current debt.  Here is a round up of these articles:

Flexo @ Consumerism Commentary writes

"Free Gifts From Lending Club’s DebtBuster Challenge"

"Start the Decade Off Right: Pay Off Debt"

Matt @ Debt Free Adventure writes

"Debt Help – The Lending Club DebtBuster Challenge"

"Debt Consolidation – It Can Work"

DK @ DebtKid writes

"Bust’ A Debt"

"9 Rules To Get Out Of Debt"

Steve the GetOutOfDebtGuy writes

"Take the DebBuster Challenge and Get Free Stuff from LendingClub.com"

"Can I Get a Personal Debt Consolidation Loan?"

"Lending Club - A Place to Get Real Loans to Consolidate Debt"

"I'm Lending Money to People So They Can Consolidate Their Debt"

"Where Can I Go to Get a Consolidation Loan with a Better Interest Rate?"

Silicon Valley Blogger @ TheDigeratiLife writes

"Become Debt Free Faster With The Lending Club DebtBuster Challenge"

"Use A Debt Consolidation Calculator, See How To Erase Debt Faster"

"Debt Solutions To Break Out Of The Debt Cycle"