Antecedents of Lenders’ Trust in Malaysian Peer-to-peer (P2P) Lending Platforms Project

With over 70% of Southeast Asians considered unbanked, Malaysia became the first ASEAN country to regulate Peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms in 2016 by giving licenses to eleven platforms. P2P lending is a novel approach that benefits the bulk of the unbackable individuals or businesses particularly those with lower credit ratings that make them ineligible for bank loans. Despite P2P platforms being regulated by the Securities Commission Malaysia (SCM), the information provided by these platforms is limited, leading to hesitancy in trusting P2P platforms among investors. Therefore, the paper aims to investigate signaling factors influencing trust towards P2P lending platforms in Malaysia. Data were collected from 109 investors who had invested in at least one of Malaysia's registered P2P lending platforms. For estimation, regression analysis was estimated. Results suggest that website quality, top management team heterogeneity, and social influence increase lenders’ trust towards P2P lending platforms, while platform reputation does not significantly impact lenders' trust. The findings extend existing research to the signaling theory in the context of lenders' trust in P2P lending platforms. For practice, the study suggests that service providers can maintain high-quality websites and enhance platform reputation to reassure lenders that the platform is legitimate and dependable.