How to invest in crowdfunding in Europe: from the register check to the first tax statement
Seven steps into European crowdfunding: register check, KYC, funding, first investment, limits, exits and tax records, with platform data of 1 October 2026.
Updated: 1 October 2026
Starting in European crowdfunding takes seven steps. First you check the provider in a register, verify your identity and fund the account. Then you make a first investment, set limits, learn the exit route and keep tax records. Each platform sets its own minimums, fees and timings; this guide gives them with dates, as read on 1 October 2026.
Step 1: register entries, legal entities and warnings
Providers that offer crowdfunding services under Regulation (EU) 2020/1503 (ECSPR) are listed in a public register that ESMA publishes. The CSSF's page on the register says it is "updated on a regular basis" (CSSF, page updated 29 September 2022). ESMA's Q&A 6.2 states that an entry carries the commercial name or names of the provider. It adds that a provider may use several (ESMA, answer of 16 December 2022). So the legal entity named in the entry is the item to match against the platform's terms.
National lists show different things:
| Authority | List | What an entry shows |
|---|---|---|
| CNMV (Spain) | Registered crowdfunding providers | Legal denomination, reference number, an Effective From date column and website |
| FCA (UK) | Financial Services Register, updated 13 February 2026 | Currently and previously approved firms, plus unauthorised firms and clone-firm details |
| Latvijas Banka (Latvia) | Investment service providers | AS Mintos Marketplace and SIA DN Operator, the operating entities of Mintos and Debitum |
| Estonian FSA | Supervised entities | Estateguru OÜ in the category of crowdfunding service providers |
The AMF publishes a white list of crowdfunding providers authorised or licensed in France, and BaFin offers a company database for supervised firms in Germany.
The FCA's clone-firm page warns that clones copy a genuine firm's name, address, reference number and website (FCA, updated 14 May 2025). ESMA's scam page adds that fraudsters use its name and logo, counterfeit documents and copied websites (ESMA, read 1 October 2026). A licence number printed on a website needs matching against the contact details in the register entry itself.
Authorities describe the risk in plain terms. The FCA calls loan-based and investment-based crowdfunding high-risk investments without access to the FSCS (FCA, updated 10 July 2026). The AMF says interest payments and capital repayment are never guaranteed (AMF), and BaFin says a project failure carries the risk of total loss (BaFin).
Step 2: identity checks and the ECSPR tests
Each platform runs its own verification, and the accepted documents differ.
| Platform | Steps stated | Documents | Stated time | Page date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mintos | Veriff checks photos of you and your original ID document; an NFC step is optional | EU citizens: passport or national ID card with electronic security features; non-EU citizens: passport; residence permits, driving licences and paper national cards excluded (page) | none stated | 12 February and 22 April 2026 |
| PeerBerry | Real-time document photo and selfie | Passport or national ID card; residence permits and driving licences rejected | up to 10 minutes | read 1 October 2026 |
| Go & Grow | Identity verification, bank-account verification, personal KYC details | none listed | account verification usually 1-2 business days (page) | 22 April 2026 |
| Debitum | Identity check, KYC questionnaire and SAQ questionnaire | Residence permits issued by the country of residence accepted (guide) | none stated | 11 March and 3 July 2026 |
| Estateguru | ID document, AML information and an appropriateness questionnaire before investing; the platform notifies you before you transfer money to the virtual account | none listed | none stated | 5 April 2024, reopened 1 October 2026 |
| Maclear | Sumsub identity check with a valid passport, national ID card or residence permit that does not expire within 30 days. Smartphone photos and a selfie follow, then proof of address | Proof of address issued within 3 months, with full name and residential address. Accepted documents are utility or telecom bills, government statements, bank letters, mobile operator statements, lease agreements or active insurance policies. Neobank statements go to manual review (FAQ) | identity result typically within 10 minutes of submission | 3 and 4 August 2026 |
Mintos and PeerBerry reject residence permits in their document rules, while Debitum and Maclear accept them. The clocks also start at different points: Go & Grow quotes account verification, PeerBerry and Maclear quote the identity check.
Offers within ECSPR add two tests for non-sophisticated investors. Each platform asks about experience, objectives, financial situation and understanding of risks, and reviews the assessment every two years (Article 21, Regulation 2020/1503). An insufficient result brings a risk warning and an acknowledgement from you, and you can still proceed. The loss simulation sets capacity at 10% of net worth, with net worth counted as annual net income plus liquid assets minus annual financial commitments. With €0 of income, €50,000 of liquid assets and €10,000 of commitments, net worth is €40,000. Simulated loss capacity is then €4,000 and the 5% threshold is €2,000. Above the higher of €1,000 or 5% of net worth, you receive a warning. You give express consent and show that you understand the investment and its risks. Under Article 22, the reflection period runs for four calendar days from the offer. These rules refer to offers within the Regulation and, where stated, to non-sophisticated investors; platforms and products need checking one by one.
Step 3: deposits and withdrawals
Deposits first:
| Platform | Methods | Minimum | Fee | Arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mintos | Easy bank transfer (unavailable in the Baltic countries), card (depends on the card's issuing country), Apple or Google Pay (mobile app only), manual bank transfer | €50 for Easy bank transfer, card, and Apple or Google Pay (€50 to €1,000 per transaction, €1,000 a month); none stated for manual transfer | 2% on card, Apple Pay and Google Pay; none on Easy or manual bank transfer | SEPA 1-3 business days, SWIFT and non-EEA 3-5 (page) |
| PeerBerry | SEPA in euro; SWIFT and cards excluded | €0.01 (page) | none | up to 2 working days |
| Go & Grow | SEPA with your unique payment reference | none stated | none stated | up to 3 business days |
| Debitum | Instant internet-bank deposit or manual SEPA | €10 for instant, none for manual | none stated | none stated |
| Maclear | SEPA transfer from an account in your name, using your payment reference | €50 | no Maclear fee | 1-3 business days |
Withdrawals of available cash follow different rules:
| Platform | Fee | Minimum and limit | Processing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mintos | Free on the fee page | none stated | none stated |
| PeerBerry | none | €1 minimum, €15,000 per transaction | same or next available business day, then up to 2 working days to the bank |
| Go & Grow | €1 per withdrawal | none stated | single transfer; daily instalments only in extraordinary circumstances (page) |
| Debitum | none | one manual SEPA transfer first, to verify the bank account | normally within 3 business days |
| Estateguru | €3 per withdrawal | none stated | none stated |
| Maclear | no Maclear fee | €50 minimum, to a verified IBAN | 1-2 business days, then typically 1 day for eurozone arrival |
Dates: Mintos arrival page 19 May 2025; Go & Grow pages 22 and 24 April 2026; Debitum withdrawal page 13 March 2026. Other dates: Estateguru fee page 14 January 2026; Maclear FAQs 3 August 2026; PeerBerry and the Mintos fee page read 1 October 2026. A withdrawal procedure moves available cash. Positions that are still invested leave through the sale routes in step 6.
Step 4: minimum tickets and the first investment
Deposit minimum and investment ticket are different numbers. PeerBerry shows three. One is €0.01 to fund the account, another €10 per loan. Last comes a €50 floor on the maximum-per-loan field of Auto Invest (PeerBerry, Auto Invest).
| Platform | Minimum investment | What you buy |
|---|---|---|
| Mintos | €50 per Set of Notes | Notes, described as regulated financial instruments issued by an entity of the Mintos group. Each Note has a nominal value of €0.01, and a Set bundles 6-20 similar loans |
| PeerBerry | €10 per loan | Loan investments; its secondary market transfers the seller's claim rights to the buyer (page) |
| Estateguru | €50 | Loan claims; its secondary market sells claims |
| Maclear | €50 in the primary market | Primary-market investments; balances below €50 stay in the account |
| Debitum Flow | €10, with a maximum of €5,000 per investor per Note | Five-year Notes announced on 11 September 2026 |
Dates: Mintos help 23 September 2024, Estateguru 5 April 2024, Maclear 3 August 2026, PeerBerry read 1 October 2026.
At these minimums, €1,000 buys at most 20 positions of €50 on Mintos, Estateguru or Maclear, and at most 100 loans of €10 on PeerBerry. On Mintos each of those 20 positions is a Set of 6-20 loans. Those figures are arithmetic on published minimums.
Mintos offers manual selection through Browse loans and automated portfolios through Custom Loans, which apply your rules and reinvest interest (Mintos). PeerBerry's Auto Invest respects the limits you set for originator, loan type, remaining term and uninvested cash. Secondary-market offers are excluded from it, so those purchases are manual. Maclear lists AutoInvest at no platform fee (fee table).
Step 5: concentration limits and diversification
Four percentages circulate in this field, and each has its own denominator:
- 15% of a Mintos Core Loans portfolio can sit under a single prospectus. Its criteria are predetermined and not editable (Mintos).
- Core Loans selects Sets with less than 20% exposure to late loans, a test applied inside each Set (same page).
- ECSPR's loss-capacity simulation is set at 10% of net worth (step 2).
- The FCA's 2019 rules restrict retail customers new to P2P to 10% of investable assets, unless they receive regulated advice (FCA, 4 June 2019). That rule belongs to the United Kingdom.
The FCA's diversification page recommends spreading investments across different products and markets and says diversification cannot eliminate every risk (FCA, updated 16 May 2025). Platforms add their own mechanisms. Maclear's FAQ of 10 September 2026 says 2% of each successfully funded project goes to a segregated account. Depending on available funds, that account can cover investors' interest and/or capital losses (Maclear).
Step 6: exits, holding periods and the fee at each trigger
| Platform | Route and condition | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Mintos | Notes secondary market. Core Loans cash-out requires that no underlying loan is more than 10 days pending or overdue. Other criteria include late exposure, score and lending-company status (page, 25 September 2026) | 0.85% of the final sale price for the seller on Notes; buyers pay none (page, 17 August 2026) |
| PeerBerry | Resale after 180 days from investment or from a secondary purchase; discounts up to 50%. Unsold offers are cancelled after 14 calendar days. The secondary market is currently available on desktop only | none |
| Estateguru | Secondary market for claims | 1% for the seller (14 January 2026) |
| Maclear | Listing after project funding completes; a purchased position cannot be relisted for 30 days; secondary transaction minimum €30; listing window 14 days | 2.5% of the transaction amount for sellers, no platform purchase fee (3 August 2026) |
| Go & Grow | No minimum investment period before you request a withdrawal; partial payouts in daily instalments apply only in extraordinary circumstances | €1 per withdrawal |
| Debitum Flow | Early-withdrawal requests join a first-in-first-out queue funded by incoming investments and a financing-partner liquidity buffer. Requests up to €1,000 are typically eligible for next-business-day withdrawal; weekly request limit €5,000 | no exit fees (announcement of 11 September 2026) |
The Debitum row rests on the announcement of 11 September 2026, which makes timing depend on available liquidity.
Fees attach to different actions. Selling a €500 position at full price costs €4.25 at the Mintos Notes rate, €5.00 at Estateguru's 1% and €12.50 at Maclear's 2.5%. At PeerBerry, platform fees for such a sale come to nothing. At Mintos the percentage applies to the final sale price, after any discount. A fixed charge such as €1 at Go & Grow or €3 at Estateguru weighs more on small withdrawals than on large ones. Platform fees above exclude any charge your own bank makes.
Step 7: statements and tax routes
Download a statement early and check what it separates.
| Platform | Where the record sits |
|---|---|
| Mintos | English tax report for 2025; Annex 3 covers claim investments and Annex 4 Note investments (help of 24 March 2026) |
| PeerBerry | Statement section: Generate, then download for chosen dates; PeerBerry does not deduct investor taxes |
| Go & Grow | Tax Report on the Reports page |
| Debitum | PDF from My Balance and All transactions for a date range, with each investment's ISIN |
| Estateguru | Dashboard, Account value, then Reports; returns are paid gross |
| Maclear | Statements, then Tax: a PDF for a custom period that separates interest, bonuses, referral income and secondary-market profit, loss and sale fees |
Each tax authority names its own route for interest:
| Country | Route | Source |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | Covered UK peer-to-peer interest goes on form SA101, Additional Information | HMRC |
| Germany | Capital income without tax deduction goes in the annual tax return | Finanzamt NRW |
| France | Foreign income: annex 2047, then the 2042 fields; the gross income is declared | impots.gouv.fr |
| Spain | Modelo 100 for 2025, subsection 7.2.3.1 on interest from accounts, deposits and financial assets in general | AEAT |
| Netherlands | Other receivables count as investments and other assets in the 2026 box 3 calculation | Belastingdienst |
| Ireland | Form 11 for self-assessed investors, Form 12 for PAYE investors who qualify | Revenue |
Rates, withholding and loss rules by country are in the crowdlending tax guide.
How to invest in crowdfunding: FAQ
Does a register entry mean my money is safe?
No. A register entry identifies the entity and its permission, and the warnings in step 1 describe repayment risk separately. For Mintos, the Latvian protection page limits compensation to eligible outstanding obligations of up to €20,000 where funds or instruments are not returned. Investment losses are also excluded (Latvijas Banka).
What is the smallest amount I can start with?
It depends on which number you mean. Deposits of €0.01 and loans of €10 are accepted at PeerBerry. Mintos, Estateguru and Maclear set €50 for an investment. Mintos adds a €50 minimum for Easy bank transfer, card and Apple or Google Pay deposits, while manual bank transfers have no Mintos limit. Debitum Flow starts at €10.
How long until I can invest after signing up?
PeerBerry quotes up to 10 minutes for document verification and Maclear typically 10 minutes for the identity result, followed by proof of address. Go & Grow quotes 1-2 business days for account verification. Add the deposit arrival times from step 3 before the first investment.
Can I take back an investment offer?
Under ECSPR, a non-sophisticated investor can revoke an offer during the reflection period of four calendar days. It applies to offers inside the Regulation and is separate from loan maturity and resale eligibility. After the reflection period, the exit depends on each platform's sale route.
Does the platform's tax report settle my tax?
The report is a record. PeerBerry states that it deducts no investor taxes, and Estateguru pays returns gross. So declaring the interest stays with you, in the return named for your country in step 7.