It's unlikely that random people will just give you the money you need to float you through your ordinary fiscal troubles. But they might make you a loan. Peer-to-peer lending, where borrowers bypass big banks and get loans directly from other individuals, is getting bigger all the time.
For those who can't get bank loans, the new business of peer-to-peer lending can be a lifesaver. Internet companies connect people who need cash with folks willing to lend -- for a fair profit, of course. Here's how it works, risks and all.
Peer-to-peer lending site Prosper.com has stopped letting high-risk borrowers use its site because too many of them failed to repay their loans. The site's problem, says columnist and one-time lender Alex Salkever, is that Prosper got in the way of letting a social bond form between microborrower and microlender.
