Lending through EdAid involves risks to your money. You could lose some or all of the money you lend. Loans made through EdAid are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) or the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). You should only lend money you can afford to lose.

About EdAid

• EdAid is a trading name of EdAid Ltd, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Ref: 673376).

• EdAid facilitates zero-interest loans between individual lenders and student borrowers under individual Loan Contracts.

• EdAid is not a party to those Loan Contracts. Our role is to administer them in line with the EdAid Principles and our Terms of Business.

Key Risks

• 1. Risk of non-repayment

  • You lend directly to individual student borrowers.

  • If a borrower does not earn sufficient income, loses employment, or defaults, you may not receive repayments in full or on time.

  • There is no guarantee that you will be repaid the full amount you lend.

• 2. No interest or inflation adjustment

  • Loans carry no interest and no inflation protection. Repayments are limited to the principal you lend.

  • Inflation may reduce the real value of your repayments over time.

• 3. No FSCS or FOS protection

  • Loans made through EdAid are not protected by the FSCS.

  • You will not have recourse to the Financial Ombudsman Service if a borrower defaults or if EdAid fails.

• 4. No security

  • Loan Contracts are unsecured. Borrowers do not provide collateral.

  • In the event of default, recovery may depend on debt collection processes and may result in partial or no recovery.

• 5. Dependence on borrower circumstances

  • Repayments may be linked to a borrower's net monthly income.

  • If a borrower earns less than expected or stops working, repayment timelines may extend significantly.

  • Additional borrowing by the same borrower may lengthen repayment periods further.

• 6. Operational risk

  • Although EdAid does not hold client money, we rely on third-party payment providers (e.g. Stripe) to process repayments.

  • Failure of these providers may disrupt or delay repayments.

• 7. Winding-down risk

  • In the event that EdAid ceases trading, we have arrangements in place to ensure the continued administration of Loan Contracts.

  • However, repayment timelines may still be disrupted.

Due Diligence and Suitability

• Before releasing funds, EdAid conducts identity, fraud, and (where possible) credit checks, and also assesses affordability using the borrower's monthly income and course of study.

• These checks reduce but do not remove the risk of borrower non-repayment.

• Lending through EdAid is suitable only for investors who understand and accept these risks.