Crowdlending vs crowdfunding: what the label says, what the regulator defines, what you hold
Crowdfunding is the umbrella, crowdlending the loan branch, and ECSPR a narrower service. How labels differ from loans, Notes and claims, as of 2 October 2026.
Updated: 2 October 2026
Crowdfunding is the broad English term, crowdlending is its loan branch, and ECSPR defines a narrower business-funding service. Labels say less than the contract: ESMA reports 58% of its 2024 ECSPR funding as loan-based and 23% as transferable debt securities (ESMA, December 2025).
Three meanings of crowdfunding
| Meaning | Source | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary English | Oxford Learner's Dictionaries, read 2 October 2026 | Many people contributing to a project; the entry names no instrument or licence |
| Research classification | CCAF methodology, read 2 October 2026 | P2P/marketplace lending open to individual and institutional funders, with platform balance-sheet lending, debt securities, invoice trading, equity and real-estate equity or subordinated debt listed separately |
| UK regulator guidance | FCA, first published 9 November 2023, updated 4 August 2026 | Loan-based (also called peer-to-peer lending), investment-based (shares or debentures), donation-based and rewards-based crowdfunding |
| EU regulated service | Regulation 2020/1503, Official Journal copy, 20 October 2020 | Matching business funding interests through loans or specified securities services (Article 2(1)(a)). Consumer project owners excluded (Article 1(2)(a)). Aggregate offers above €5 million over 12 months excluded (Article 1(2)(c)) |
One broad label can sit on a product the regulation does not cover, and a regulated service can carry a narrower public label. A label alone shows no licence and no instrument. Operating an electronic system for qualifying lender–borrower agreements is a distinct regulated activity for the FCA (PERG 2.7.7H). That is a UK perimeter and sets no EU-wide terminology. For the basic definition of crowdlending, see what is crowdlending, and for the full taxonomy with investor protections, types of crowdfunding.
Loan, debt security and share under ECSPR and MiFID II
| Source | Loan wording | Securities wording |
|---|---|---|
| ECSPR Articles 2(1)(b), (m), (n) | A loan carries an unconditional obligation to repay the agreed amount plus accrued interest | Transferable securities as defined in MiFID II; admitted instruments include eligible limited-company shares without effective transfer restrictions |
| MiFID II Article 4(1)(44), read 2 October 2026 | – | Securities negotiable on the capital market, such as company shares, bonds and securitised debt; instruments of payment excluded |
| ESMA 2025 report, 2024 data | Loan-based: 58% of €4.25 billion | Debt-based (transferable debt securities): 23%; equity-based: 12%; 181 active providers in 21 member states |
| FCA | Loan-based crowdfunding or P2P lending | Investment-based: shares or debentures |
| Banca d'Italia, read 2 October 2026 | Lending-based crowdfunding through a "contratto di mutuo", also called peer-to-peer lending | Investment-based when platforms place business debt securities ("titoli di debito"), bonds included |
| Eurocrowd, read 2 October 2026 | Interest-bearing loans | Share investment; debt or quasi-equity investment |
Together, the three ESMA shares reach 93%, and ESMA files the remainder under "Other", which covers admitted instruments such as private company shares.
Diagrams with four branches (donation, reward, lending, equity) have no row for debt securities.
P2P, marketplace and loan-based: loose synonyms
For lending with interest and capital repayment, the FCA writes "loan-based crowdfunding – also known as peer-to-peer lending". Banca d'Italia likewise calls lending-based crowdfunding peer-to-peer lending. CCAF's taxonomy admits institutional funders into P2P/marketplace lending. Its second global report records 16% of formerly P2P-only firms adding on-balance-sheet activities, in a survey covering 2019 and 2020 (Cambridge). A 2018 OECD working paper by Havrylchyk lists P2P, marketplace, lending-based and loan-based among the labels for internet loan intermediation (OECD, 2018, pre-ECSPR).
Funding Circle's investor page states that its 10 March 2022 announcement permanently closed the retail platform to new investments. It adds that new lending is institutional (Funding Circle, read 2 October 2026). So a comparison that cites the firm as a P2P example needs that date beside it.
Five platforms: label, claim and register entry
| Platform | Own label | What the investor holds, per its documents | Entity and register |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mintos | "European investment platform", read 2 October 2026 | Notes created by an issuer, a special-purpose entity in the Mintos group. A Set pools 6–20 similar loans (help, 23 September 2024). Base prospectuses under the Prospectus Regulation and final terms with ISIN, maturity, interest and underlying loans (help, page updated 22 September 2026) | Latvijas Banka: investment-services licence for AS Mintos Marketplace, 17 August 2021, no. 06.06.08.719/534. Activities include execution of orders on behalf of clients, portfolio management, investment advice and placing of financial instruments without a firm commitment basis |
| PeerBerry | "Alternative investment platform"; "Peer to peer lending marketplace" in a secondary-market page title | A secondary-market buyer acquires the seller's claim rights against the borrower, which originate in the loan agreement | No register entry read for this article |
| Estateguru | "Marketplace for short-term property-backed loans", 10 May 2023; a March 2026 guide uses "real estate crowdfunding" for loan-based investing | Loans backed by property collateral | Estonian FSA: Estateguru OÜ listed as a crowdfunding service provider, last change shown 4 February 2026 |
| Go & Grow | Formerly Bondora; the site says its roots were in peer-to-peer lending | Purchases and sales of borrower claim rights; the claims are unsecured consumer loans; stated maximum return 6% a year (risk statement) | Operator Go&Grow OÜ, company number 12831506; the footer says the operator does not issue loans |
| Debitum | Calls its ABS offering a peer-to-peer platform model, 20 May 2024 | ABS issued through a special-purpose vehicle owned by Debitum; Notes, introduced in March 2024, issued by loan originators or cooperation partners | Latvijas Banka: investment-services licence for SIA DN Operator, 21 September 2021, no. 06.06.08.728/537 |
Every entry above is the platform's or register's own statement on the date shown. Each register entry supports its named entity and listed activities only, so the entity named in your contract is the one to look up. For the mechanics of loans and assignments, see peer-to-peer loans.
Maclear describes Maclear AG as a P2B crowdlending platform on its homepage, whose title reads Swiss P2P Crowdlending. The terms (§3.9) allocate 2% of funded projects to a provision fund held in a separate bank account. Maclear's FAQ of 10 September 2026 describes the fund's primary purpose as continuity of interest payments during delays exceeding three days.
Translation traps in French, Spanish and Italian
| Language | Term | What the source says | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| French | financement participatif par prêt | The terminology authority recommends it as the French equivalent of crowdlending and marks "prêt participatif" as discouraged in that sense | FranceTerme, 2017 entry hosted by OQLF |
| French | prêt participatif | The platform Les Entreprêteurs still writes "Crowdlending : Prêt participatif" | Les Entreprêteurs, read 2 October 2026 |
| Spanish | préstamo participativo | The statutory loan carries interest linked to the borrower's business evolution, with an additional fixed interest permitted, and ranks "después de los acreedores comunes" | RDL 7/1996, Article 20(1), consolidated text read 2 October 2026 |
| Italian | finanziamento collettivo | Banca d'Italia's translation of crowdfunding; it describes real-estate crowdfunding as able to take loan or equity form | Banca d'Italia, read 2 October 2026 |
| English | crowdinvesting | Walliance's glossary says it comprises equity, debt and lending crowdfunding, with debt using securities and lending using loans. LEND, a Swiss platform, separates "common parlance" from the broader research usage | Walliance, 23 July 2026; LEND, read 2 October 2026 |
Literal translation of "participatory loan" brings legal features such as subordination that a standard crowd loan lacks. The Spanish and French statutes above show this for those two national instruments.
Platforms and publishers that narrow the umbrella
EthicHub's comparison of 10 September 2024 describes crowdfunding investors as acquiring part of a business (EthicHub). BBVA Spark places altruistic contributions and non-monetary rewards under its crowdfunding heading and discusses equity crowdfunding separately (BBVA Spark, 14 December 2023). LANDE's 20 August 2021 comparison separates crowdlending from crowdfunding by "guaranteed investment returns" (LANDE). Interest owed under a loan contract is an obligation, and whether it is paid is a separate outcome. These are attributed examples of varied usage, and no prevalence estimate follows from them.
Reading order for a platform's documents
| Question | Where the answer sits | Example |
|---|---|---|
| What do I hold? | The instrument document: loan agreement, claim assignment, Note or share | Mintos final terms name the ISIN, maturity and underlying loans |
| Who owes me? | The borrower or the issuer named in that document | Debitum names a special-purpose vehicle it owns for ABS and originators or partners for Notes |
| Who operates the platform? | The legal entity named in the terms | Go&Grow OÜ, the operator named on its website |
| Which register lists that entity? | The national supervisor's list | Latvijas Banka for AS Mintos Marketplace and SIA DN Operator; Estonian FSA for Estateguru OÜ |
| Which activities does the entry list? | The register entry itself | The services listed in the entry for AS Mintos Marketplace |
Advertised interest, property security and a secondary-market button answer a different question from whether you are a direct lender.
FAQ on crowdlending and crowdfunding terms
Which offers fall outside ECSPR?
Services for consumer project owners (Article 1(2)(a)) and aggregate offers exceeding the €5 million threshold within 12 months (Article 1(2)(c)). The Central Bank of Ireland's authorisation guidance separates business P2P and investment crowdfunding on one side. Consumer, donation and reward models sit on the other (CBI guidance, p. 7, read 2 October 2026). According to the FCA, payment services connected with crowdfunding can remain regulated (FCA, updated 10 July 2026).
Is investment-based crowdfunding the same as equity crowdfunding?
No, because the FCA's investment-based category covers shares or debentures, and Banca d'Italia uses investment-based for platforms that place business debt securities, bonds included.
Does a Mintos investor lend directly to borrowers?
Mintos explains that investors obtain loan exposure by purchasing Notes. Its issuer is a special-purpose entity within the Mintos group, and the final terms of each Set name the underlying loans.
Does prêt participatif mean crowdlending in French?
FranceTerme discourages that use and recommends financement participatif par prêt.
Are P2P lending and marketplace lending the same thing?
Only as loose synonyms. The FCA and Banca d'Italia pair P2P with loan-based or lending-based crowdfunding, while CCAF lets institutional funders sit in the same category as individuals.