Viainvest Review 2024 – Solid 13% Investment?

How do I deposit money?

Depositing money is, as always, the easiest step when investing. In your account, you’ll see a “Add Funds” button. When you click on it, you’ll be shown transfer details that you can use.

For this purpose, you can create a payment template at your bank. That’s how I’ve done it for many other platforms as well. Please note that the first transfer must come from a personal bank account. This account will also be verified for future withdrawals.

The bank details of Viainvest.

How do I withdraw money?

If you want to withdraw capital or excess interest from the P2P platform, you can use the “Withdraw Funds” button located at the top right of your account summary. There is no fee for withdrawing funds.

Investors can only withdraw funds to the bank account from which the initial deposit was made. If you wish to register a new account for withdrawals, you’ll need to make a new deposit from the new personal account.

How long does the deposit take?

Based on my Viainvest review, depositing funds into your Viainvest account usually takes around 1 to 2 days. However, if you use services like the free Revolut account*, the transfer is often faster.

Can I deposit and withdraw with a credit card as well?

At the current time, you cannot use credit cards for deposits and withdrawals. These transactions must be done exclusively through a bank account. Depositing through a bank account also serves purposes such as identification.

How does Viainvest work?

After registration, you have three options for investing your money.

1. You can invest manually through the primary market.
2. The semi-automated Auto Invest builds your portfolio.
3. Or you can use the platform’s automatic strategies where you don’t have to do anything at all.

Viainvest’s primary market.

As a passive investor, I would prefer the automatic options here for the sake of time. Additionally, the loans on the platform can sometimes get filled so quickly that it’s challenging for individual investors to generate returns if you want to invest manually.

By the way, on Viainvest, you’re not directly investing in loans, but rather in loan bundles that even have their own ISIN (International Securities Identification Number). On the platform, they are referred to as “Asset Backed Securities“. However, in practical terms, this doesn’t make a difference for you.

The Viainvest Auto Invest

With Viainvest’s automatic Portfolio Builder, you can precisely specify the countries and interest rates you want to invest in. The following aspects are important in my view when configuring it:

1. Portfolio size
2. Investment amount per loan bundle
3. Interest rate
4. Duration of each investment
5. Loan originator, with a focus on the country of origin
6. Buyback guarantee

The Auto Invest from Viainvest.

Is there a secondary market?

No, Viainvest does not currently offer a secondary market, as you may be familiar with from many other platforms. You also do not have the option to exit your investments prematurely. However, there are exceptions! For instance, the larger business loans that the platform occasionally offers often come with an “Early Exit” option.

However, a completely new interface has been in development since 2023, which is also expected to include a secondary market. The exact release date for this new interface is not yet clear.

Into which loans can you invest on Viainvest?

Investors who participate in P2P lending here generate their returns primarily through loans in the consumer sector. Borrowers directly take out loans from Via SMS Group, which are listed on the platform and in which we, as investors, can invest our money.

These loans are bundled into so-called “Asset Backed Securities,” or ABS for short. Each loan bundle also has its own ISIN (International Securities Identification Number). ABS typically have a duration of 6 months, but there can also be varying durations.

Occasionally, there are also business loans on the platform. For instance, the establishment of the company’s credit business in the Philippines was financed through a loan from its own investors.

What costs are incurred on Viainvest?

There are no fees for investors on the investment or other actions on the platform.

What is the return rate on Viainvest?

The return you can earn on Viainvest is respectable. You can find the current average values monthly updated in the table above. My own historical return is over 11 percent as of today. You can see the current figures of my own portfolio in my statistics.

Is there a buyback guarantee at Viainvest?

Yes, the P2P platform offers a buyback guarantee. If the borrower is 60 days overdue with their payment, the loans, along with the accrued interest up to that point, will be repaid. However, this does not apply to the business loans that are occasionally listed on the platform. However, these business loans usually have real collateral, which is ultimately more valuable.

What is the minimum investment amount on Viainvest?

You need to invest 50 EUR per loan bundle or Asset Backed Security on the platform.

Can you invest money in other currencies?

No, here you always invest in euros.

Will I also receive interest for delayed loans?

Yes, investors always receive interest for the entire period during which their funds are invested in the loan. This also applies to delayed payments.

How does the taxation work for Viainvest?

The platform withholds 5% withholding tax, otherwise it doesn’t deduct any taxes on your behalf. You are responsible for reporting your earnings to the tax authorities in your jurisdiction.

Is there a tax certificate available on Viainvest?

There is a proper certificate for the tax authorities if you need one. You can download it from the “Statement” section.

The certificate is available as a PDF download.

Issues and solutions from my Viainvest Review

As always, there are occasional issues that arise. I’ll show you how you might be able to resolve them.

The Auto Invest isn’t investing!

A so-called demand imbalance can occasionally occur. This happens when there are more investors looking to invest in P2P loans than there are available P2P loans. Smaller platforms can experience this from time to time. In general, you have two options:

1. Withdraw your funds
2. Wait

According to my personal Viainvest review, situations like these are often temporary. I have never withdrawn my funds in such cases. Moreover, usually, enough other investors do so, and after a while, there should be enough loans available again.

One approach that has helped me several times with Viainvest, in particular, is to recreate the Auto Invest settings.

Viainvest Risk

According to my Viainvest review, the Latvian P2P platform is one of the most stable in the market. I’ve been invested here since 2017, and there have been some turbulent times since then, but they were managed successfully. However, earning interest can come to an end quicker than one would like. We’ve seen this happen on other platforms. So, a loss is never completely ruled out!

How reputable is Viainvest?

Due to the close connection between the P2P platform and the Via SMS Group, which has been in the market for years, it can be assumed that we are dealing with a reputable platform here. Furthermore, I have personally met the platform’s team on multiple occasions and do not get the sense that they have any malicious intentions (I’ve encountered far different situations).

Additionally, the P2P platform has been strictly regulated and regularly monitored in Latvia since 2022. This should provide investors with enough confidence to start an investment with Viainvest.

How secure is Viainvest?

The Latvian P2P platform is among the safer P2P platforms. However, you must not forget that investing in P2P loans is generally associated with high risks! Therefore, it is advisable to invest only money that you can afford to lose if needed.

Is there a deposit insurance on Viainvest?

No, definitely not. Viainvest is not a bank and therefore does not fall under any European deposit insurance. All funds you invest on the platform are exposed to a high risk of default.

Viainvest in times of crisis

As an investor in Viainvest, you sailed through the Corona flash crash in March 2020 with ease! Even the Ukraine conflict in 2022 had little impact on the platform.

Pros and Cons of my Viainvest review

Before we reach a concluding assessment of the platform, here’s a summary of the pros and cons based on my Viainvest review.

Cons ➖

• IT is not Viainvest’s strong suit, as evidenced by the recent transition to Asset Backed Securities.
• There are relatively few loans available on the platform, which can lead to “Cash Drag” issues.
• You pay withholding tax on Viainvest.
• All loans are provided by the Via SMS Group, meaning you have only one loan originator.
• Due to the absence of a secondary market, you have no option to exit your investment prematurely.

Pros ➕

• Having the backing of Via SMS Group, a partner that has been operating profitably for over 10 years.
• With an average interest rate well above 10%, investors can be quite profitable and achieve a good return here.
• The website is super simple and user-friendly.
• All loans come with a buyback guarantee.
• Viainvest or Via SMS Group provide borrowers from relatively low-risk countries.
• Regulated P2P platform with audited financial reports.

My Viainvest Review (On-Site)

I have met the Viainvest team numerous times. I visited them for the first time with my business partner and friend Kolja Barghoorn in 2018 when we traveled to the Baltics as kind of pioneers to visit several P2P platforms. Since then, much has changed, and I recently met the team at the Finfellas Conference in 2023, as well as visited their office a month later.

Is there a Viainvest forum where you can exchange information?

There is an international group of investors on Telegram where you can engage in discussions.

Is there a bonus or referral program for inviting friends to join Viainvest?

No, currently there is no referral program on Viainvest. However, through my link, you will receive an additional 1% cashback on all your investments after 90 days, making it a perfect start for your own Viainvest review.

Sign up now and collect 1% cashback after 90 days!*

Viainvest vs. Mintos

I am often asked how certain platforms compare to Mintos and whether they are alternatives. In my opinion, both platforms are not directly comparable. The reasons for this are simple:

1. Mintos is a marketplace with over 60 loan originators in its portfolio, similar to Via SMS Group.
2. If Via SMS Group encounters problems with loans, it is highly likely that ALL your P2P loans on Viainvest will be affected.
3. If a similar scenario occurs on Mintos, only a portion of your portfolio will be affected.

As you can see, it’s an “apples and oranges” comparison. However, based on my own Viainvest review, you can still use the platform as a complementary option.