Heartland New Zealand has taken a 10 percent stake in New Zealand's only peer-to-peer lending platform.
Harmoney's online lending platform operates much like a dating service, matching lenders to borrowers - but with a regulatory framework to govern the integrity of its management, systems and procedures.
Heartland chief executive Jeff Greenslade said Harmoney complements the bank's niche marketing strategy and is a potentially valuable channel to attract customers, which its current networks do not capture.
Peer-to-peer lending is one of the fastest growing forms of lending, globally. Harmoney estimates the rate of growth is 200 percent a year.
The value Heartland's investment has not been disclosed.
