Frequently asked questions
1. WHO IS SHAREMYLOAN AND MATCH THE CASH?
ShareMyLoan is a trading style of Match the Cash Limited. Match the Cash Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority to operate an electronic system in relation to lending and provides a platform for lending and borrowing transactions conducted between our customers.
2. WHO CAN LEND AT MATCH THE CASH?
To lend via the Match the Cash platform you must:
a) be a UK Resident and have a UK current bank account;
b) be aged 18 or over;
c) able to confirm your identity;
d) have read and understood how Match the Cash Lending Platform operates and be approved under our Anti Money Laundering procedures.
3. DO I HAVE TO PAY A FEE TO LEND VIA THE MATCH THE CASH PLATFORM?
No, you do not have to pay a fee to lend on the Match the Cash peer to peer platform.
4. WHAT IS THE MINIMUM/MAXIMUM I CAN LEND?
Our minimum loan amount: £10,000
Our maximum loan amount available online is: £100,000
If you want to invest more please call us on 01603 391182.
5. HOW LONG CAN I LEND MY MONEY OUT FOR/IS THERE A MINIMUM TIME?
The term is for 5 years.
6. WHEN IS INTEREST PAID?
Interest is paid monthly.
7. WHAT IS AN IFISA?
An IFISA is an Innovative Finance Individual Saving Account.
The new IFISA lets you use your tax-free ISA allowance while investing in Peer to Peer(P2P) lending. However, we do not provide advice. You should seek financial advice before investing.
8. CAN I INVEST IN AN IFISA WITH MATCH THE CASH?
Yes, you can invest a minimum of £10,000 for a term of 5 years. The maximum amount you can lend on line is £100,000.
For more information on IFISA please click here.
9. CAN I TRANSFER OTHER ISAS INTO AN IFISA?
Yes, you can transfer from your Cash ISAs and Stocks and Shares ISAs into a ShareMyLoan IFISA. When you apply on line you will have the option to transfer from an existing ISA to an IFISA. The amount you can hold in an IFISA is set by the HMRC and is subject to change.
10. HOW DO I TRANSFER CASH FUNDS TO MATCH THE CASH?
Once you have confirmation that you have been approved by us as a lender, as part of our online process we will provide you with our client bank account details so that you can transfer funds by bank transfer directly to our client account.
11. WHAT DOCUMENTATION WILL I RECEIVE FROM YOU?
You will receive an electronic monthly statement. The monthly statement is viewable via the online log in. We will also provide an annual income statement at the end of the tax year which you can download from your personal account.
12. WHAT SORT OF RETURN CAN I EXPECT TO MAKE?
Past performance is not a guarantee of the future.
The rate of return shown on our website is before tax and assuming reinvestment of capital throughout the term. It assumes all of the loan repayments are made on time and in full.
The actual rate of return may be lower than anticipated if the capital is not immediately reinvested throughout the term and all of the loan repayments are not made on time or in full.
The annual default rate can be found here.
The information above will be updated annually and made available on our website.
13. CAN I GET MY MONEY BACK EARLY OR ACCESS MY MONEY IN AN EMERGENCY?
Should you ever need access to your money before it is due to be repaid, we offer a tool called ‘Quick Return’, which helps you sell your loans to other lenders, so you can get back your money, provided that there are other lenders willing to purchase your loans. We cannot guarantee that you can get your money back early. Please refer to section 11.5 of the Lender Terms. There is an administration fee payable to Match the Cash of 2.5% of the amount you wish to access.
14. CAN I CANCEL MY CONTRACT?
You have 14 days from when you have transferred funds to the Match the Cash client account to change your mind. Once the 14-day period has elapsed you are not able to cancel. However, we do offer a tool called ‘Quick return’ see question 13 above, should you wish to access your money before the end of the term after the cooling-off period has elapsed.
15. WHAT TYPE OF LOANS ARE PROVIDED THROUGH SHAREMYLOAN?
ShareMyLoan provides Joint Loans.
16. WHAT IS A JOINT LOAN?
Joint loans are unique in that they use a ‘joint borrowers’ – who is usually a family member, friend or colleague of the person who wants to borrow the money. It is an unsecured loan. Both borrowers are jointly and individually responsible for the repayment of the loan.
17. WHAT HAPPENS IF A BORROWER MISSES A PAYMENT OR IS UNABLE TO PAY?
If a loan instalment doesn’t come in on time, we will notify both borrowers. The repayments will be collected from a nominated bank account (this will be the account of the first borrower unless agreed otherwise) We will always try to find a solution with the first borrower before discussing payment of the loan with the Joint Borrower. If we are not able to collect a payment from the first borrower or a solution cannot be found, then the joint borrower will be contacted to make the payment. If a payment is made by the joint borrower in this way, we won’t assume that will be the way it is paid from then onwards and will always leave the joint borrower as a last resort.
18. WHAT IS THE DISCRETIONARY RESERVE FUND?
The Discretionary Reserve Fund is a ring-fenced cash reserve fund that is held to meet Lenders’ requests for reimbursement of capital when a borrower’s account is in arrears of a sum greater than six contractual monthly payments. The Discretionary Reserve Fund is NOT an insurance product.
THE DISCRETIONARY RESERVE FUND WE OFFER DOES NOT GIVE YOU A RIGHT TO A PAYMENT SO YOU MAY NOT RECEIVE A PAY-OUT EVEN IF YOU SUFFER LOSS. THE FUND HAS ABSOLUTE DISCRETION AS TO THE AMOUNT THAT MAY BE PAID, INCLUDING MAKING NO PAYMENT AT ALL. THEREFORE, INVESTORS SHOULD NOT RELY ON POSSIBLE PAY OUTS FROM THE DISCRETIONARY RESERVE FUND WHEN CONSIDERING WHETHER OR HOW MUCH TO INVEST.
19. HOW SAFE IS MY MONEY?
As with any type of lending, there is a risk that the borrowers will not repay the loan. Match the Cash has systems in place to keep this risk to a minimum:
a) All borrowers are carefully selected by trained employees. Credit checks and affordability assessments are completed for both. Your money will only be lent to those that meet our lending criteria.
b) If we are not able to collect a payment from the first borrower or a solution cannot be found, then the joint borrower will be contacted to make the payment.
c) We take the threat of fraud seriously at ShareMyLoan. Protecting our investors against fraud is paramount. Each borrower is required to provide identification in the form of photo ID and a bank statement. This information is verified by independent checks provided by reputable credit reference agencies which have access to centralised databases, enabling them to cross reference information throughout their network of members.
d) ShareMyLoan has set up a Discretionary Reserve Fund, which is held in a separate client account. The Discretionary Reserve Fund is a ring-fenced cash reserve fund that is held to meet Lenders’ requests for reimbursement of capital when a borrower’s account is in arrears of a sum greater than six contractual monthly payments. The Discretionary Reserve Fund is NOT an insurance product.
THE DISCRETIONARY RESERVE FUND WE OFFER DOES NOT GIVE YOU A RIGHT TO A PAYMENT SO YOU MAY NOT RECEIVE A PAY-OUT EVEN IF YOU SUFFER LOSS. THE FUND HAS ABSOLUTE DISCRETION AS TO THE AMOUNT THAT MAY BE PAID, INCLUDING MAKING NO PAYMENT AT ALL. THEREFORE, INVESTORS SHOULD NOT RELY ON POSSIBLE PAY OUTS FROM THE DISCRETIONARY RESERVE FUND WHEN CONSIDERING WHETHER OR HOW MUCH TO INVEST.
If a claim is made on the Discretionary Reserve Fund made it does not include any interest that has accrued or may accrue.
e) Your money is held in a segregated bank account until it is lent out – it does not form part of Match the Cash’s assets.
20. IS MY MONEY COVERED BY THE FINANCIAL SERVICES COMPENSATION SCHEME (‘FSCS’)
No, your investment is not protected by the FSCS. Whilst ShareMyLoan has sufficient financial resource, above the regulatory requirement to manage the business, should a situation arise that ShareMyLoan find they are unable to continue with the business, your investment would not be protected by the Financial Compensation Scheme (FSCS). FSCS does not cover peer to peer lending.
21. WHAT HAPPENS IN THE EVENT OF EITHER PARTY’S DEATH?
a) In the event of the Lender’s death, we are unable to change the name of the Lender’s account or transfer the money into another person’s name. We will take repayments and interest earned as usual on behalf of your estate. Once the loan is repaid in full we’ll release the money when the executor of your will instructs us to do so.
b) The contract is unaffected in the event of the Borrower’s death. Once we have received a certified copy of their death certificate, we will give the executor of their will all the details of the loan and the settlement figure. The Borrower’s estate can either pay off the outstanding amount in full, or set up a new direct debit from their own bank account and continue the monthly payments as usual. The Joint Borrower may choose to settle the loan and in this case the Joint Borrower will remain liable for the repayments until the loan has been repaid.
22. WHAT HAPPENS IF MATCH THE CASH GOES INTO ADMINISTRATION?
Whilst Share My Loan has sufficient financial resource, above the regulatory requirement to manage the business we have to plan for all contingencies. If Match the Cash were to fail (or close to new business for whatever reason), we have a plan in place to ensure that our lenders’ loans are repaid according to the schedule. The funding of the plan comes from a combination of the income Match the Cash receives from the loans plus the Discretionary Reserve Fund. In the event that Match the Cash goes into administration, the contracts between Lender and Borrower is still legally valid and will not change. Borrowers will have to make repayments to Lenders as usual.
23. WILL I KNOW WHO MY BORROWERS ARE?
For security reasons, we do not disclose the full name or address of the borrowers. Your loan will be spread across a range of our approved borrowers to the extent that no more than 5% of your lent amount will be against an individual borrower.
24. DO I HAVE TO PAY TAX ON THE INTEREST EARNED THROUGH MATCH THE CASH?
All returns are paid gross without any tax deducted, and so Lenders may have to pay income tax on the interest earned through Match the Cash. To help you, we will provide an annual interest statement on line which you can download from your personal account. This will show the total gross interest you have received for the relevant tax year. The income tax payable will be dependent on your circumstances, and may be subject to change. It is your responsibility to pay the correct tax on your earnings through Match the Cash. Match the Cash is not a tax advisor. If in doubt consult your tax advisor or HMRC.
25. IS PEER TO PEER LENDING REGULATED?
Peer to Peer lending is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Match the Cash is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to operate an electronic Peer to Peer lending platform. Our reference number is 718844. Whilst Peer to Peer lending is regulated it is not protected under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
26. IF I SUFFER A LOSS OF CAPITAL, IS THE LOSS DEDUCTIBLE FROM CAPITAL GAINS THAT I MAY MAKE ELSEWHERE?
You should seek independent financial taxation advice based on your own personal circumstances as to whether any losses can be deducted from gains elsewhere. Income tax payable will be dependent on your circumstances and may be subject to change in the future. It is your responsibility to pay the correct tax on your earnings through Match the Cash. Match the Cash is not a tax advisor. If in doubt consult your tax advisor or HMRC.
27. HOW DO I MAKE A COMPLAINT?
We consider a complaint as being defined as an expression of dissatisfaction made by you in relation to any of the services we provide. In the event that you make a complaint, we will endeavour to rectify the problem as soon as practicably possible. We have a complaint handling procedure. If you feel that your complaint or grievance has not been dealt with satisfactorily, you have the right to take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman. If you have not received a final response letter from us within eight weeks of raising your complaint, or the final response letter has been received but is not satisfactory to you, you will need to bring your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman within six months. You can contact the Financial Ombudsman at The Financial Ombudsman Service, Exchange Tower, London, E14 9SR or by calling them on 0800 023 4567. If you do refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, this will not affect your right to take legal action.
28. HOW CAN I CONTACT YOU?
To contact us, please write to Match the Cash at Acre House, 11-15 William Road, London, NW1 3ER, email customerservices@sharemyloan.co.uk or call Match the Cash on 01603 391182.
V1.1.28 28 January 2026