Esketit Review: Top 3 P2P Platform in 2023!

What do US rapper Lil Pump, the largest retail bank in South Africa and a long-time ex-Mintos employee have to do with my Esketit review? To find out, read carefully the following deep dive analysis on the Irish-Latvian P2P platform!

After the platform gained some traction in the first two years after inception, I committed to also invest my own funds on Esketit and become part of their excititng journey. At the moment, Eskeit is among the fasted growing and most stable platforms that investors can find in the current P2P environment. 

All the information that are covered in this Esketit review are based on my own personal experiences with the platform for the past 2+ years. Please make sure to do your own due diligence before investing on any platform. More information can be found in the Disclaimer.

Further analyses of other platforms can be found on my P2P Platform Review page.

Last Update: May 2023

Esketit Overview

To begin, I’ve put together a brief summary of the most important Esketit information for you.

About Esketit

Esketit is an Irish-based P2P platform with Latvian roots, founded in July 2020. Investors can fund a variety of international consumer loans on the platform, while earning an average return of 13.3%.

The platform is still in its early stages compared to other market players. However, the platform is led by a very experienced founding team and is also supported by a big non-bank lending company.

At the time of this review, Esketit is among the fastest growing and most stable platforms in the current P2P environment. Find out more in this Esketit review if the platform is a suitable addition to your portfolio.

The Origin Story

Esketit was founded in July 2020. The launch of the website happened in December 2020 and the first loans have been issued in March 2021. The driving forces behind Esketit are the two founders Davis Barons and Matiss Ansviesulis, who have already built a succesful conpany with AvaFin Holidng, formerly known as Creamfinance.

The idea behind Esketit was to establish a low-cost funding source for their worldwide lending operations.

Interestingly, the name “Esketit” is based on a song and a frequently used word by the US rapper Lil Pump, who came up with the expression “esketit” which refers to “Let’s get it”. 

Who owns Esketit?

The “Esketit Platform Ltd.” is owned 50% each by the two founders Davis Barons and Matiss Ansviesulis. In 2012, both businessmen already founded the Latvia-based SIA Cream Finance, which operates as an international non-bank lender in the consumer loans segment. At this company too, the shares are split 50/50 between the two Latvians.

In 2019, I was able to meet one of their two founders, Matiss Ansviesulis, in person. During our meeting we also recorded a little video for my YouTube channel.

We had another conversation in May 2023 when I was recording a podcast regarding the recent hype surrounding the platform. At this occasion, Matiss also revealed that Esketit is about to onboard external loan originators to meet the ever increasing demand on the platform, hence transforming the platform into a P2P marketplace.

AvaFin Holding (formerly Creamfinance)

AvaFin Holding (formerly Creamfinance) is the driving force behind Esketit. All lenders represented on the Esketit marketplace belong either to AvaFin Holding or its founders. Therefore, a few remarks about the Latvian company.

• Creamfinance Holding was founded in 2012 in Latvia and today employs over 300 people in 15 different countries.
• The Group has €22.8 M in equity, with total assets worth €82.3 M.
• Creamfinance lenders have financed more than €800 M in loans to date
• Currently, three lenders from AvaFin (Latvia, Poland and Spain) are also funding their loans on the Mintos marketplace.

To be more attractive to investors, Esketit offers completely different borrower countries on its own marketplace as well as a 2% higher yield than on Mintos.

In 2022, AvaFin Holding was able to achieve a record profit of €8.3 M. The driving force behind Esketit is thus in a better financial position than ever before.

Esketit Management

Latvian Vitalijs Zalovs is CEO of the Esketit platform since April 2021.

Vitalijs is not an unknown face in the industry. He previously worked for six years at the Latvian P2P marketplace Mintos where he was employed as Head of Investor Relations.

After being identified by a head-hunter for the CEO position, he jumped at the chance and moved into the management position at Esketit.

Business Model & Finances

Throughout the process of due diligence, investors should also have a look at the business model of a P2P platform as well as the overall financial situation. How does the company earn money? Does the platform operate profitably? And how well is the company positioned financially? In the following paragraphs of this Esketit review, you can follow-up on those questions.

How does Esketit earn money?

Esketit earns money primarily through commission fees that are charged to lenders represented on the platform. These fees are divided into a fixed fee and a variable fee, which is calculated depending on the financed loan volume. The average commission is around 2%, which thus corresponds to a normal market rate.

Is Esketit profitable?

The platform claims to have reached profitability on a monthly basis during the second half of 2022. According to Eskeit, the threshold for reaching break-even comes with an outstanding loan portfolio of around €20 M. This allows the platform to cover its total expenses of approximately €35,000 per month.

However, no audited financial statements have been published so far to review both the income and expense structure of the platform.

Sign Up and Bonus

To invest on Esketit, investors must meet two requirements: A minimum age of 18 years and a bank account in the European Union or the European Economic Area.

The sign-up process on Esketit is fairly simple and intuitive. After opening the account via email, the KYC and AML questionnaires must be completed. After that, the verification of the identity takes place as well as from the bank account.

Also legal entities have the opportunity to register with Esketit.

Bonus for New Investors

If you consider investing on Esketit, a sign up through this link will enable you to get an unlimited cashback bonus of 0,5% in the first 90 days after registration.

Investing on Esketit

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

Loan Offering on Esketit

Esketit collaborates with five different lenders on its marketplace. Three of them belong to the Cream Finance Group (CreditAir, lendOn, Creditosi), the other two belong to the founders of the platform (Money for Finance, LoanMe).

The loans themselves are primarily short-term consumer loans.

The lenders on Esketit offer a variety of international consumer loans from a few very exotic and less represented borrower countries. In Europe, the company is represented in the Czech Republic, Spain and Poland. They are joined by Mexico from South America and Jordan from the Arab Emirates.

Costs and Fees

There are no fees or hidden costs for retail investors on Esketit. Neither for deposits or withdrawals, nor for the functionalities when investing on the platform.

Expected Returns on Esketit

The expected return on Esketit is promoted with an average of 13.3%. An additional return can be achieved through the loyalty program of the platform, in case certain investment treshholds are reached.

Auto Invest

On Esketit, investors can invest in loans manually as well as through an Auto Invest feature. The Esketit Auto Invest is divided into two types: the “Esketit Strategies” and the “Custom Strategies”.

Custom Strategies are more or less the classic Auto Invest. Investors can select individual lenders, borrower countries, the term of the loans, the interest rates, the investment amount, the loan type as well as the buyback guarantee option.

Esketit Strategies, on the other hand, have three predetermined investment options with different country weightings and interest rates.

The “Diversified” strategy automatically invests on all lenders, with an average expected return of 12%. The country weighting is composed of 33% Jordan, 37% Poland, 27% Spain and 3% Czech Republic loans. The “Jordan” strategy includes only Jordanian loans at an interest rate of 14%.

With the “CreamFinance” strategy, an average return of 11% can be achieved, with a country breakdown of 55% Poland, 40% Spain and 5% Czech Republic.

Those who opt for one of the predefined Esketit strategies can liquidate their entire loan portfolio immediately if there is also a corresponding market demand.

Secondary Market

Esketit also offers a secondary market. Here, investors can both buy and sell loans prior maturity. Both a discount or a premium can be specified on the sale. In addition, no fees are paid for the use of the secondary market. A rare expection in the current P2P environment.

Buyback Guarantee

Esketit offers also the concept of a buyback guarantee, whereby the loans are repurchased by the lenders after the loans are +60 days late in the repayment schedule. In addition, some lenders offer an additional group guarantee as a liability option.

The Esketit Forum

If you have questions about Esketit, other platforms or different p2p-related topics, you can join the re:think P2P Community on Facebook and engage in discussions with more than 1,000 other private retail investors.

Esketit Taxes

Generally, interest income generated by loan financing is considered investment income and must be reported as such on the tax declaration. Unlike other platforms, Esketit does not withhold any taxes at the moment.

For the tax declaration, investors can download an income statement for tax report purposes as PDF within the “Statement” tab in the main menu. This information can then be used and forwarded to the tax office.

Esketite 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 Esketit? Where are the underlying risks and how are they assessed?

The platform itself is providing a list of potential risk elements that could mature for investors. These include e.g. regulatory risk, credit default risk or loan originator risk.

War in Ukraine

Esketit has not been affected directly by the war in Ukraine, as their lending companies don’t operate in neither Ukrainian or Russia. There doesn’t seem to be any indirect influences either, as the platform was able to continue its day-to-day operations as usual. The funded loan volumes in 2022 have also shown that investors have not perceived any threats on Esketit either.

Is Esketit a Safe Platform?

Esketit can be assessed as a safe P2P platform, although there is still room for improvements in terms of more transparency and security.

This includes publishing audited financial statements or becoming a regulated entity.

On the other hand, there are also good arguments that speak for the safety of Esketit:

• Loan Default Risk: Esketit’s founders have 10+ years of experiences in the lending industry, so they are familiar with responsible lending practices. In the event of loan defaults, investors are covered by a buyback guarantee, which has been honored to date without any problems.
• Lender Risk: In the event of difficulties with a specific lender, the Group guarantee can serve as a hedge if necessary. If this isn’t the case, the claim rights against the borrower still exist.
• Regulatory Risk: Even though Esketit is not a regulated platform, at least all lenders that are promoted on the marketplace are. These are subject to national guidelines and regulations when granting consumer loans.

Pros & Cons

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

Advantages

• Lender Support: With AvaFin (Formerly Creamfinance), Esketit is supported by a big, profitable and established non-bank lender in its lending activities.
• Strong Partners: In addition to AvaFin, Eskeit holds also close ties to Capitec Bank (the largest retail bank in South Africa), which they have on their side as a strategic partner and investor.
• Experienced Founders: Both Esketit founders have many years of experiences in the lending business and they have a proven-record of establishing succesful businesses.
• High Liquidity: Whether PayDay Loans, secondary market or early cash-out via Esketit Strategies, investors have the opportunity to access their funds in a short period of time. 
• No Fees: No fees or hidden costs apply for investors on Esketit.

Disadvantages

• Regulation: Esketit opted for being an Irish-based company, despite having strong Latvian roots. Legal and tax reasons have been a big incentive, which investors need to pay for with less compliance and transparency.
• Segregation of Funds: Currently, investors transfer their money to a bank account that is in Esketit’s name. Obtaining an EMI license, either directly or in collaboration with a payment service provider, would increase the security of stored funds.
• Possible Liability: Similar to Mintos, there is also a clause in Esketit’s T&Cs that investors may be liable for costs in case of a recovery process (“In case of the Lender’s default […] ESKETIT may incur costs, such as, e.g., external legal fees related with the recovery of respective funds due to the User […] or taking other actions which are aimed at ensuring that payments are made to Users with respect to their Claims. The User hereby acknowledges that ESKETIT is entitled to compensation and the User agrees to compensate such reasonable costs“)
• Conflict of Interest: There is a shareholder overlap between Esketit and AvaFin. In case of potential lender defaults it seems hard to imagine that shareholders would go to court against themselves.

Esketit Alternatives

The closest Esketit alternatives that investors can find is by looking at platforms such as PeerBerry, Robocash or Lendermarket. All those platforms have a strong and established lender in the background, which provides the platform with a sufficient loan supply.

You can find other Esketit alternatives on the P2P Platform Comparison page.

Esketit Community Feedback

Esketit made the biggest leap of all platforms in the Community Voting 2023, improving by 1.97 points to a score of 4.15 (71 votes). At the same time, Esketit was also voted the most popular P2P platform (out of 30 competitors). In the previous year, Esketit ranked only 18th out of 20.

Other platforms in top 5 have been Robocash, PeerBerry, LANDE and Income Marketplace.

Summary Esketit Review 2023

Esketit is one of the fastest growing and most stable platforms in the current P2P environment. Despite being a comparatively young P2P platform, Esketit offers an overall very appealing profile for many investors that want to diversify their loan portfolio with highly liquid assets.

Further arguments in favor of Esketit are a strong and financially stable lending partner (AvaFin), two experienced founders that know how to run a succesful business and attractive interest rates. The framework for Esketit to establish themselves as a front-runner for P2P lending in many years are 100% given. 

To become an even better platform, the lack of regulation remains to be discussed. While there is no acurate “transparency problem” with Esketit, a regulated environment could provide even more compliance and thus more certainty for investors.

FAQ Esketit Review