Match the Cash

Match the Cash Limited is a UK Peer-to-Peer (P2P) lending platform founded in 2014, presenting itself as a specialist in guarantor loans and joint unsecured loans. The group also operates GuarantorMyLoan.co.uk and Share My Loan.

The firm appears on the FCA Register as directly authorised with FRN 718844, holding permissions to operate an electronic system in relation to lending (P2P).

SO WHAT? Direct FCA authorisation means the firm is supervised under FCA conduct rules — materially different from an Appointed Representative — but it does not bring FSCS protection for loan capital. Investors should also note an unrelated unauthorised firm named Cash Match appears on the FCA Warning List; verify you are dealing with Match the Cash Limited (FRN 718844).

Match the Cash connects lenders with approved borrowers via an electronic matching platform, marketing guarantor loans and joint unsecured loans to investors. Borrowers undergo credit and affordability checks; where applicable, guarantors or joint borrowers are contacted in cases of missed payments.

The platform has at various points communicated periods where it is not accepting new lenders, indicating temporary pauses to onboarding.

SO WHAT? Onboarding pauses constrain liquidity and deployment, and loan-level underwriting quality is the dominant driver of investor outcomes given the absence of a meaningful secondary market.

Core products: guarantor loans and joint unsecured loans, offered via the Match the Cash group brands GuarantorMyLoan and Share My Loan.

Investment mechanics: typical loan terms run to around five years. Marketing materials have historically advertised headline returns of "up to 10% before tax" — these should be treated as illustrative rather than guaranteed. A reported minimum investment of £10,000 and a maximum online lending amount of £100,000 appear in legacy materials but were not fully verifiable in current authoritative sources [unverified].

Tax wrapper: an Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA) is promoted for eligible UK investors, with transfers from other ISA types described as possible. No SIPP wrapper is indicated.

Liquidity: no reliable secondary market — investments should be assumed illiquid for the full loan term.

SO WHAT? Headline yields and minimums need to be validated against the platform's current terms; in the absence of a working secondary market, expected returns hinge on underwriting and recovery quality.

Match the Cash is suited to experienced investors who can accept:

• illiquidity for the full loan term (typically around five years);
• materially higher credit risk than bank deposits, with capital at risk and no FSCS protection on loan capital; and
• platform-specific underwriting and conduct risk evidenced in the firm's FOS complaints history.

The IFISA wrapper can appeal to UK taxpayers wanting to shelter P2P returns, but capital should only be committed that an investor can afford to lock away and potentially lose.

Strengths:

• Direct FCA authorisation (FRN 718844), with supervisory and conduct obligations attached.
• Focused product set (guarantor and joint unsecured loans) that makes the underlying liability structure relatively transparent.

Risks:

• Capital at risk; no FSCS cover for P2P loan capital.
• FOS findings: multiple upheld Financial Ombudsman Service complaints have found Match the Cash Limited (trading as GuarantorMyLoan / GuarantorMyLoan.tv) failed to carry out reasonable and proportionate affordability checks in guarantor loan cases — raising concerns about underwriting quality and potential default rates.
• Discretionary reserve fund: platform documentation describes a reserve, but explicitly states it is not a guarantee of repayment and that the operator may exercise discretion over payouts, including making no payment.
• Liquidity: no reliable secondary market; early exit is generally not possible.

SO WHAT? The combination of FOS-evidenced affordability failures, a non-guaranteed discretionary reserve, and illiquidity means credit risk dominates the investment case and should drive due diligence.

• Name confusion — "Cash Match": an unrelated unauthorised firm named Cash Match appears on the FCA Warning List. Always confirm you are dealing with Match the Cash Limited (FRN 718844).
• FOS rulings: upheld complaints on unaffordable guarantor lending point to historical weaknesses in responsible-lending practices that can flow through to lender returns via defaults and remediation costs.
• Limited independent sentiment: the Trustpilot page for matchthecash.com returns a 404 at the time of review, reducing observable public sentiment.
• Unverified figures: the "up to 10%" headline yield and specific minimum/maximum investment amounts should be validated against current platform terms.