FAST INVEST Review: Taking the Art of Investment to the Next Level

High yielding peer-to-peer (P2P) crowdlending platforms have been attracting a huge number of investors and borrowers in the last few years. The opportunity of investing in alternative assets that P2P platforms present to investors as well as the chance to diversify their investment portfolios has been a major attraction. That’s not all; the double-figure returns from these platforms seem to offer a safer investment ground, especially when compared to the high risks often associated with stock markets and other financial markets. In addition to presenting investors with a digital investment platform and process, P2P platforms make things even better by offering investors with safe deposit and withdrawal methods.

And even with all these positives, the ability to maximize your investments and attain higher returns generally depends on the P2P platform that you choose. In other words, choosing the right P2P platform is of great importance in attaining success in the P2P industry.

FAST INVEST is one of the few platforms in the P2P crowdlending industry that’s delivering exactly what it promised investors. In addition to providing high-interest rates, FAST INVEST has some of the best features such as auto-invest, money-back guarantee, buyback guarantee (to minimize your losses), and a proper interface to make your investment experience more enjoyable and successful.

The explanation above is, of course, not quite complete if you’re looking for a perfect P2P lending platform to use. That’s why I want to go deeper into detail and review this platform without bias. So without further ado, let’s see what it entails.

What is FAST INVEST?

Launched in 2015, FAST INVEST is a P2P investment platform with its main office in UK, though ,in FAST INVEST words, majority of the work is done from the Lithuanian office. Offering consumer loans to over 39,000 registered investors from 65 countries, the platform has so far funded over 42.4 million worth of loans. The platform offers investors the chance to earn interest rates ranging from 9% to 13% (Average 12.04%). To live up to its name, FAST INVEST gives investors a fast start into the investment world by offering one of the lowest entry points in the P2P industry. In other words, you can start investing with as little as 1 Euro! This is also one of the few platforms in the industry that accept two currencies: Euro and Polish zloty.

Currently, FAST INVEST has ambitious goals to expand internationally in several European countries, (In the past FAST INVEST had plans to expand to Hong Kong and Singapore, but plans have changed, they are going to focus on the EU). FAST INVEST was recently nominated by Business Tabloid for Finance Awards 2019 as the fastest-growing P2P investment platform in the UK market. The platform was also among the 50 fastest-growing companies of 2019 in The Silicon Review. FAST INVEST is also a member of European crowdfunding network, Copenhagen Fintech and Spanish Fintech association.

Key Features

• Estimated Interest Rates – 9%-13% (12.04% average);
• Established in 2015;
• Accepted Currencies – Euro and Polish zloty (PLN);
• Buyback Guarantee – Yes;
• Auto-Invest – Yes;
• Manual Investing – Yes;
• Early Exit – Yes (Money-back Guarantee);
• Minimum Investment – €1;
• Loan Types – Consumer Loans;
• Secondary Market – No;
• Fees – No;
• Investors – Over 39,000+ from 65 countries.

Who Can Invest Via FAST INVEST?

Whether you want to invest as an individual or through your company, FAST INVEST makes it quite possible. You’ll, however, have to meet the following requirements:

• Be at least 18 years old;
• Be a resident of the EU;
• Have a bank account in your name within EU;
• Own a valid email address;
• Have a genuine national identification or passport for verification.

How Does FAST INVEST Work?

As a P2P platform that largely offers consumer loans, FAST INVEST puts a lot of emphasis on ensuring that borrowers repay their loans to reduce the risk of investors losing their investments. For this reason, FAST INVEST’s marketplace consists of 4 main characters: borrowers, investors, loan originators, and FAST INVEST.

Although FAST INVEST doesn’t disclose their loan originators, the platform collaborates with a couple of loan originators who publish their loan portfolios on the platform. You can invest in these loans either manually or through the auto-invest tool. Most of the loans offered on the platform have loan terms ranging from a few months to one year.

FAST INVEST differentiates itself from other P2P platforms in three ways:

•         Unlike other platforms where the loan originators cover the buyback, FAST INVEST covers the buyback guarantee.
•         FAST INVEST can buy back your loan (through its buyback guarantee) after only three days if there’s a default. This is different from other platforms that trigger buyback guarantee after 30, 60 or 90 days.
•         You can exit any investment at any time and receive your money within a day through the platform’s money-back guarantee.

How to Register and Invest Via FAST INVEST

While the registration process is pretty simple and short, it has four steps:

Step 1: You should create a free account by filling up the registration form. The process takes less than five minutes. All you have to do is visit the website and click on the “registration” icon.

Once you’ve submitted your registration form, FAST INVEST will take a few minutes to verify your identity and will send a confirmation link to your email address.

Step 2: You can add funds to your FAST INVEST account once your registration has been verified. You can only add funds through your EU bank account as the platform doesn’t accept other payment methods such as electronic wallets or credit cards. Remember, you can add as little as €1 or as much as you can. To add funds to your FAST INVEST account, go to the “Add Funds” page on the side menu and follow the simple instructions.

Step 3: You’re free to select the available loans and invest once the funds are available in your FAST INVEST account. You can choose to invest manually or take advantage of the auto-invest tool to invest your money into loans that meet the conditions you set.

Step 4: You can then sit pretty and wait to receive your money back (plus interest) in installments as per the terms of the contract. The platform’s interface is user-friendly and you can review your investment information on your dashboard.

How to Invest in FAST INVEST

In addition to offering consumer loans, FAST INVEST offers loans with relatively shorter terms (a maximum of 12 months) when compared to other P2P crowdlending platforms. The first step of investing via FAST INVEST is to filter the best loan deals based on your preferences (you can filter interest rates, loan terms, country and many more). You’ll get more information on loans by clicking on the “invest” icon.

Loan Listing, Loan Liquidity, and Loan Originators

Taking its uniqueness to another level, FAST INVEST lists all the loans on the “Loan List” and “Calculator Page”. This is to make it easier for investors to view the loan details, calculate expected returns, and pick their preferences.

In terms of loan liquidity, FAST INVEST attracts several loans from countries such as Denmark, Spain, Iceland, Russia, and Poland so you shouldn’t lack something to invest in. In other words, the loan volume is high and you should be able to find a loan that suits your investment preferences.

Like most P2P crowdfunding platforms, FAST INVEST uses multiple loan originators, which is a great way of spreading risk. Unfortunately, a noticeable drawback of this amazing platform is that it hides the identity of some of its loan originators, which is an obvious lack of transparency. But to deal with this issue, FAST INVEST is planning to become more transparent once the existing contract expires.

Using Auto-Invest Tool

While I often encourage readers to invest manually, you can take advantage of the platform’s auto-invest tool. Using the auto-invest tool will not only allow you to completely automate your investment on the platform but will let your money work hard for you.

You can use the primary parameter on the “auto-invest” portfolio to determine your basic settings. This makes the auto-invest tool more accessible and easier to use for everybody. The secondary parameter allows you to easily adjust your auto-invest tool to specific features such as interest rates and loan terms.

The platform also allows you to pause, stop or resume the auto-invest tool at any time. The auto-invest tool will not necessarily use all the funds in your FAST INVEST account. Instead, it will only invest in loans that perfectly match your preferences and leave the excess funds in your account. The tool also has a repayment option that allows the platform to automatically reinvest the profits and principal amounts you receive.

Money-back Guarantee

While most P2P platforms don’t offer a Money-back Guarantee, FAST INVEST takes things a notch higher by offering this unique feature. Simply put, a money-back guarantee gives investors the option to exit early or cancel the investment before the set period. In other words, you can get your invested money during the contract period, in fact within a day!

If you want to cancel your investment before maturity, you can simply click on the “My Investment” section, select that specific loan and click the “sell” button. You’ll wait for a few hours before the Account Management Support team approves the refund. (With the Moneyback investors receive full principal amount, but not the interest.)

Buyback Guarantee

Keep in mind that the buyback guarantee is quite different from the money-back guarantee. The buyback guarantee comes into the equation when there’s a late payment or when a borrower defaults. If there’s a default, FAST INVEST will pay the investor within three days and then collect the money from the lending company. The buyback guarantee is to ensure that you do not lose your investment just because a borrower defaults.

Is FAST INVEST Safe?

It’s always essential to remember that there are inherent risks that come with investing not just on P2P platforms but anywhere else, for that matter.  I always hope that my readers or any investor will never lose money by investing in P2P platforms. That being said, the biggest risk of investing via FAST INVEST is the possibility of loan originators going bankrupt.

But because FAST INVEST is ahead of time, it has put in place the money-back guarantee, which will automatically kick in if a loan originator goes bankrupt, as well as the buyback guarantee, which makes the platform safer for investors. But before investing your money in any of the projects, just take your time and do your research and only invest in projects that you’re comfortable with.

FAST INVEST Fees

Like most P2P crowdfunding platforms, using FAST INVEST is free. Here’s a summary of the fees.

• Opening an account – Free
• Identity Verification – Free
• Administration fees – Free
• Loan sale via Money Back – Free (earned interest will be deducted, but principal will be fully paid)
• Service Fee – Free
• Adding a bank account – Free (External bank commissions may apply)
• Withdrawal to a bank account – Free (External bank charges may apply)
• Currency exchange for investment purpose – Free

FAST INVEST Ease of Use

In its quest to go international, FAST INVEST supports a number of languages such as English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Finnish,. The website’s design is also user-friendly and is great both on the computer and smartphone.

That’s not all; the platform also has great customer support, especially when compared to other platforms in the industry. You can get in touch with support via email, phone, or through live chat. You’ll also get notifications through email in case of any developments.

What are the Pros and Cons of FAST INVEST?

FAST INVEST has a lot of incredible features but also needs to improve in some areas.

Pros

• Loans with high-interest returns (Up to 13%)
• The signup process is fast
• The platform offers a money-back guarantee, which is like an early exit option
• The platform has an attractive and intuitive interface
• The customer support is fast and friendly
• You can use different currencies to invest in the platform
• The loans have detailed information
• The platform has an auto-invest feature
• The buyback guarantee is fast (3-day 7-day or 15-day buyback)

Cons

• Lack of transparency on loan originators (FAST INVEST already disclosed 2 of those and they are going to disclose all in the future)
• The platform only offers consumer loans

Competitors

Some of FAST INVEST’s competitors include Mintos, Viventor, RoboCash, DoFinance, ViaInvest, and PeerBerry.

FAST INVEST Review Conclusion

The platform differentiates itself from the rest by offering a money-back guarantee (which is a quick withdrawal of funds), as well as a 3-day buyback guarantee to ensure that you get paid promptly even if there’s a loan default. In short, FAST INVEST prioritizes the safety of your investment and gives you the chance to withdraw your investment at the click of an icon.

In essence, FAST INVEST has several innovative features to ensure that investors are safe at all times and attain double-digit returns on their investments.

But before investing your money in any of the projects, just take your time and do your research and only invest in projects that you’re comfortable with.

This is the end of my FAST INVEST review. If you have any suggestions, ideas or would like to add something, leave it in the comment section below!

My other reviews – Mintos – Envestio – Crowdestor – Crowdestate – Estateguru – Kuetzal – Funderbeam.