$2.6 billion peer-to-peer economy booms in NSW after 68% growth

By Tom Watson · · 2 min read
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The surging popularity of ‘sharing’ services such as Airbnb, Uber and peer-to-peer lender SocietyOne in New South Wales has resulted in a 68% revenue increase in the states’ sharing economy from $1.6 billion in 2014-15 to $2.6 billion in 2015-16.

Deloitte’s latest Developments in the Collaborative Economy in NSW report, commissioned by the NSW Department of Finance, Services & Innovation, revealed that almost 100,000 people in New South Wales generated income through the sharing economy - double the number from the previous report.

"The booming collaborative economy is disrupting traditional business models, putting downward pressure on prices and providing more choice for the public than ever before,” said Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation, Matt Kean.

The financial services sector of the collaborative economy, which includes lending and online crowdfunding, experienced particularly strong growth both in revenue (up by 345%) and in participation (up by 164%).

The report showed that peer-to-peer lenders like SocietyOne and RateSetter continued to prove popular with both borrowers and investors, with the former having recently eclipsed the $250 million lending mark.

With an increase in drivers from 3,000 to 8,000 in Sydney between 2015-2016, ride sharing platform Uber continued its expansion, while other ride and car sharing platforms helped the transportation and automotive sharing economy generate an additional $132 million between 2014-15 and 2015-16.

The popularity of Airbnb in Sydney, now ranked as the 5th largest market in the world, helped prop up growth in the accommodation services sector, with the Deloitte report showing an increase of 139% in the number of people who generate income through home sharing.

Deloitte suggested that both technological developments and an increased awareness of industry regulation has facilitated growth in the sharing economy, which only has more room for expansion in the future.

With peer-to-peer loans becoming an increasingly popular alternative to traditional lending, it could be worth your while comparing loans (which start from as low as 5.10%) if you’re in the market for a personal loan of your own.