Bondster Review: Why You Will Find Better P2P Alternatives!

Key Takeaways

Bondster is a Czech P2P marketplace with around 30 international loan originators and an advertised average return of 13.6%, operational since May 2017.
Investors benefit from a broad loan offering with buyback guarantee, a functioning Auto Invest and a secondary market for early exits.
Several loan originators have failed to meet their buyback obligations and Bondster has so far been unable to enforce the interests of its investors.
The platform is neither regulated nor transparent: no current financial reports, no insight into assets under management and barely any communication when problems arise.

What is Bondster?

bondster-bonus

Bondster is a Czech-based P2P platform, launched in May 2017, where investors can invest in a variety of international consumer loans, while earning an advertised return of up to 14%.

The platform has already gained some market experiences in previous years. Given the funded loan volumes though, Bondster is still one of the smaller platforms in the current P2P environment.

Bondster at a Glance

All key facts and figures about Bondster at a glance.

Founded / Started: June 2014 / May 2017
Legal Name: BONDSTER Marketplace s.r.o. (LINK)
Headquarter: Prague, Czech Republic
Regulated: No
CEO: Martin Stibor (März 2026)
Assets Under Management: Not Disclosed
Number of Investors: 24.000+ 
Expected Return: 11%
Primary Loan Type: Consumer Loans
Collateral: Buyback Guarantee

Business Model

Bondster earns money through different fees that are charged to the lenders on the marketplace. At the core, there are two pillars:

  • A commission fee for funding the loans (up to a maximum of 3%).
  • A fixed platform fee for administration and management.

For investors, investing on Bondster is free of charge. However, if you want to invest in Czech crowns, you pay a 1% fee of the invested amount.


Ownership and Management

Who are the main shareholders and management executives behind Bondster? Let’s have a look!

Bondster Ownership

Who owns Bondster? Bondster is 100% owned by the Czech company CEP Invest Private Equity. The ultimate beneficiary shareholder (UBO) of this company is the Czech investor and businessman Václav Valeš. The platform’s strategic partner is ACEMA Credit Czech, a.s.

Bondster Management

In March 2026, Czech national Martin Stibor was introduced as the new CEO of the P2P marketplace Bondster.

He brings many years of experience in investment management and strategic financial planning. Before joining Bondster, he spent six years at CEP Invest, where he was responsible for evaluating both publicly listed and private investment opportunities, as well as coordinating investment processes.

Martin Stibor succeeds Petr Polenda, who served as CEO of the P2P marketplace from August 2024 to February 2026.


Sign Up

To invest on Bondster, investors must meet three requirements:

  • A minimum age of 18 years
  • A residence in the European Union or the European Economic Area
  • A bank account in the European Union in their own name.

Also legal entities with a company in the EU can register on Bondster.

The registration process is fairly simple and intuitive. After opening an account via email, the KYC (Know-Your-Customer) and AML (Anti-Money-Laundering) questionnaires must be completed. This is followed by the verification of the identity and the bank account.

Bondster Forum

The P2P lending industry is a fast-moving environment. Hence, make sure to stay on top of all relevant information by subscribing to my channels on Telegram or WhatsApp. This way, you will always receive the latest information from the P2P industry, including platform news regarding Bondster. 


Investing on Bondster

How does Bondster work and what should investors know and consider when investing on the plaform? In the following sections of my Bondster review you will find all the necessary information that you need.

Loan Offering

Bondster is a P2P marketplace. This means a large number of international lenders are offering their loans for financing on Bondster. At the time of this Bondster review, there are almost 30 different lenders on the marketplace.

The majority of the loans offered on Bondster are consumer loans. Occasionally, there is also the possibility to invest in business or real estate loans.

Bondster-Review-2023-P2P

There is no geographical focus among the borrower countries. In Europe, markets such as Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Poland and Spain are represented. Outside Europe, there are also loans from Colombia, the Philippines, South Africa, Mexico or Russia.

Costs and Fees

bondster-review-feesBondster is very transparent with regard to the cost and fee structure.

There are no costs for investors for registering on the P2P platform, managing the account or investing on the primary market.

The only exception: While facilitating investments in Czech crowns, investors will incur currency exchange fees as well as a 1% fee for the amount of all investments made in CZK.

Expected Returns

bondster-review-p2p-returnsOn its website, Bondster advertises an interest rate of up to 17%, which is above average in the context of comparable P2P platforms. However, the average expected return is stated as 13.6%.

Because I consider Bondster’s risk profile to be too high, I personally have not yet invested on Bondster. Therefore, I cannot comment on a realisticly expected return.

Bondster Auto Invest

There are three ways for investors to invest on Bondster:

  • Manual loan selection via the primary market
  • Manual loan selection via the secondary market
  • Automated investment strategy

With the automated investment strategy, investors can choose between three predefined options: A diversified strategy, a conservative strategy and a high-yield strategy.

bondster-review-auto-invest-strategies

The individual strategies differ in terms of the selection of individual lenders and the expected return. Those who want more control can also pursue a customised investment strategy and set their own criteria.

Buyback Guarantee

Bondster-Review-Buyback-GuaranteeAt Bondster, loans are offered both with and without a buyback guarantee.

If a buyback guarantee is available, then the loans in delay are repurchased by the lender either after 30 or after 60 days. The outstanding interest is also to be refunded in the process.

Unfortunately, there are a many lenders on Bondster who have failed to fulfil this obligation in the past (including Right Choice Finance). The platform has not managed to enforce the interests of its investors.


Bondster Taxes

In general, interest income generated by loan financing is considered capital income and must be declared as such in the tax return.

Bondster does not withhold any taxes, as is the case in Latvia or Lithuania.

For the tax declaration, investors can download a tax report for the respective year in the main menu. This information can then be submitted to the relevant tax office as part of a tax return.


Bondster Risks

Investors should look very carefully at the potential risk factors when evaluating a P2P platform. What is it that investors need to be aware of when it comes to Bondster? Where are the underlying risks and how are they assessed?

Financial Stability

The financial stability of a P2P platform is a key risk factor. Is Bondster already able to operate profitably? And how well is the company positioned financially?

Annual Report

No financial statement is published for investors.

Auditor: Not Available

No external audit firm engaged.

Standard: Not Available

No audited financial statement available.

So far, no financial results have been published for the Bondster platform. This lack of transparency is a key risk factor that investors should take into account when forming an overall assessment.


Covid-19 Pandemic / Corona Crisis

Investor interest in Bondster dropped significantly after the outbreak of the Corona pandemic, similar to other P2P platforms. The loan volume, which stood at EUR 4 million at the end of 2019, fell to around EUR 500,000 in the second quarter of 2020.

Polish lenders have been particularly problematic during this period, struggling with the introduction of new credit regulations (interest rate restrictions) even before Corona. The lack of liquidity and the introduction of interest moratoriums ensured that Bondster itself took over the loan portfolio of its former lenders from Poland and tried to collect the outstanding repayments through collection agencies.


Intransparency

Bondster has some problems in terms of transparency. Here are some examples:

  • No data for development of assets under management.
  • No performance data of individual lenders.
  • No news and updates regarding problematic lenders.
  • No publicly available annual reports. Neither on the platform nor on its lenders.

Transparency is a crucial aspect when making an educated investment decisions. The fact that Bondster does not meet these criteria is something investors should take into account.

Is Bondster a Safe P2P Platform?

Bondster operates in an unregulated environment. The platform is therefore not supervised or controlled by any authority. In addition, Bondster, like other platforms, has no form of deposit insurance. The total loss of the investment is therefore theoretically possible.

In addition, there are the indicated problems with regard to lender risk management and the outlined issues with transparency.

Overall, there are certainly much safer platforms than Bondster at the time of this review.


Advantages and Disadvantages

In this section I have listed the most important advantages and disadvantages of Bondster.

Advantages
Interest Rates: Above-average interest rates
Diversification: Variety of different international lenders
Liquidity: Option to sell loans early via the secondary market
Disadvantages
⚠️ Regulation: No legislation is regulating the business activities of Bondster
⚠️ Transparency: The P2P platform is extremely non-transparent on many levels
⚠️ Risk Management: Many lenders fail to meet their buyback obligations on time
⚠️ Ownership: Little is known about the Valeš family business, which exercises control over Bondster through CEP Invest

Summary Bondster Review

Bondster has been on the market since 2017. Although a certain market experience can’t be denied, the platforms development in recent years seems to be stagnant.

The platform’s poor risk management is something investors should be concerned about. Several lenders do not meet their obligations to repay according to schedule, with Bondster being unable to manage and represent the interests of its investors.

In addition, transparency and communication are also happening at a very low level. As a consequence, investors do not receive any news or information regarding current developments.

Considering the entire risk-reward profile, Bondster does not qualify at this point in time for an investment. Instead, investors should turn to other alternatives.


Bondster Alternatives

Already invested in Bondster? Or looking for similar platforms? Here are three Bondster alternatives from the P2P market.

Mintos: The largest P2P platform in Europe with assets under management of 800+ million euros. Like Bondster, Mintos follows a marketplace model with a wide range of international loan originators. The key difference: Mintos is regulated, notably larger and offers additional asset classes beyond loans, including ETFs and bonds. More information in my Mintos review.

Income Marketplace: An unregulated P2P marketplace headquartered in Estonia, which markets itself through innovative security features that are designed to protect investors from underperforming loan originators. Attractive combination of high interest rates and high liquidity. More information in my Income Marketplace review.

PeerBerry: A P2P marketplace incorporated in Croatia, working closely with partners from within the Aventus Group. Compared to Bondster, PeerBerry stands out through a notably stronger performance during times of crisis and a higher level of transparency regarding its loan originators. More information in my PeerBerry review.

You can find other Bondster alternatives in the P2P Platform Comparison page.


Disclaimer
Investments in P2P loans are subject to risks and can lead to a total loss of capital. Past performance is not an indicator of future results. All content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. No liability is assumed for the accuracy of the following information, nor for any investment decisions that may be derived from it. For more details, see the full disclaimer.

FAQ Bondster Review

✅ What is Bondster?

Bondster is a P2P platform incorporated in the Czech Republic, operational since May 2017, where investors can invest in international consumer loans from around 30 loan originators. The advertised average return is 13.6%. The platform is not regulated.

✅ Who owns Bondster?

Bondster is 100% owned by Czech company CEP Invest Private Equity. The ultimate beneficial owner is Czech investor Václav Valeš. The strategic partner of the platform is ACEMA Credit Czech. Very little public information is available about the ownership structure.

✅ What returns can I expect from Bondster?

Bondster advertises interest rates of up to 17%, while stating an average expected return of 13.6%. As I consider the risk profile too high, I have not personally invested in Bondster and cannot provide my own benchmark figure.

✅ How transparent is Bondster?

Transparency is a significant issue. Bondster does not publish regular financial reports, provides no insight into assets under management, and only sporadically communicates about problems with loan originators. The most recent official figures come from an unaudited report for 2020.

✅ Is investing on Bondster worthwhile?

In my view, no. Several loan originators have failed to meet their buyback obligations without Bondster being able to enforce investor interests. Combined with the lack of regulation and insufficient transparency, there are significantly better alternatives in the P2P space — such as Mintos, PeerBerry, or Income Marketplace.

I’m Denny Neidhardt, the founder of re:think P2P. On this blog, I help retail investors make smarter, well-informed investment decisions in the world of P2P lending. Since 2019, I’ve been publishing in-depth analyses, platform reviews, and risk assessments to bring more transparency to this investment space. My goal is to challenge marketing claims, question developments, and empower investors with honest, independent insights.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *