Investing5 providers Updated May 2026

Best UK Innovative Finance ISA Platforms 2026

Quick answer - our pick

Loanpad

Best for: IFISA savers who want the lowest-risk profile within the category and prioritise capital security over yield

Of the IFISA platforms still taking retail money in 2026, Loanpad has the most defensive structure: every loan is first-charge property-secured at 50% maximum loan-to-value, daily liquidity on the Classic account, and uninvested cash sits with Barclays under FSCS protection. The yield is lower than less secured alternatives, but the entire point of choosing one IFISA over another is risk-adjusted return. For anyone who has decided they want some IFISA exposure despite the FSCS gap, this is the platform that survives a property downturn most cleanly. None of which makes an IFISA a good idea for most savers - see the linked article for the broader argument.

Visit Loanpad See full comparison
An Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA) shelters interest on peer-to-peer loans and crowdfunded debt from UK tax. Returns are higher than a cash ISA. So is the risk: IFISA money is not protected by the £85,000 FSCS deposit guarantee, and several UK P2P platforms have collapsed since 2019. This comparison is shorter than our other ISA pages on purpose. Most IFISA platforms that survived the 2019-2022 P2P shakeout are niche specialists - renewable energy, property-secured loans, ethical credit. We rank the few platforms that are still taking new retail money, focusing on lending model, security structure, and what happens to your capital if the platform goes under. IFISAs are an investment product, not a savings account. Capital at risk. Do not put money you cannot afford to lose.

Full comparison

Provider Lending modelHeadline yield Best for
LoanpadProperty-secured bridging and developmentApprox 5.4% (Classic) / 7.0% (Premium)IFISA savers who want the lowest-risk profile within the category and prioritise capital security over yield
CrowdPropertyProperty development loansApprox 7.5% to 8.5%IFISA savers comfortable selecting individual property loans and willing to lock money in for 12-24 months per loan
Abundance InvestmentRenewable energy + municipal bondsApprox 5.5% to 9.0% depending on projectEthical-investing savers willing to accept long lock-ups in exchange for putting money into UK renewable energy and community projects
Assetz ExchangeCommercial property loans (HMO + retail)Approx 5.5% to 7.0% net of platform feesSavers wanting exposure to UK commercial property income with a relatively flexible exit via the secondary market
Triodos Bank CrowdfundingBonds in mission-aligned businessesApprox 4.5% to 7.0% per bondSavers who want crowdfunding exposure inside the umbrella of an established ethical bank, on a project-by-project basis

Provider details

Loanpad

IFISA savers who want the lowest-risk profile within the category and prioritise capital security over yield

Lending modelProperty-secured bridging and development
Headline yieldApprox 5.4% (Classic) / 7.0% (Premium)
Loan securityFirst charge on UK property
Min investment£10
FSCS on uninvested cashYes (Barclays)

Pros

  • All loans are first-charge property-secured, with a 50% maximum loan-to-value
  • Daily liquidity on the Classic account, 60-day notice on Premium
  • No platform has failed yet during the 2019-2022 P2P shakeout
  • Uninvested cash held with Barclays under FSCS protection

Cons

  • Yields are lower than less secured alternatives - the trade-off for the security model
  • Concentrated in UK residential property; correlated risk if the housing market wobbles
  • Returns are not guaranteed; the headline rate assumes loans perform
Loanpad key information page Visit Loanpad →

CrowdProperty

IFISA savers comfortable selecting individual property loans and willing to lock money in for 12-24 months per loan

Lending modelProperty development loans
Headline yieldApprox 7.5% to 8.5%
Loan securityFirst charge on UK property
Min investment£500
FSCS on uninvested cashYes (segregated client account)

Pros

  • Specialist property development lender with an experienced credit team
  • All loans first-charge secured against the underlying property
  • Self-select model lets you choose which loans your money goes into
  • Strong track record on recoveries when projects have under-performed

Cons

  • Higher minimum investment than diversified alternatives
  • Self-select model puts concentration risk on the saver to spread money across loans
  • Locked-in for the duration of each loan (typically 12-24 months)
  • Exposed to UK property development risk; rising build costs or planning delays hit returns
CrowdProperty FAQ Visit CrowdProperty →

Abundance Investment

Ethical-investing savers willing to accept long lock-ups in exchange for putting money into UK renewable energy and community projects

Lending modelRenewable energy + municipal bonds
Headline yieldApprox 5.5% to 9.0% depending on project
Loan securityBonds backed by project assets
Min investment£5
FSCS on uninvested cashYes (segregated client account)

Pros

  • Ethical investing focus: wind, solar, community energy, council green bonds
  • Bonds are backed by specific project assets and cashflows
  • Long-running platform with stable retail operation since 2012
  • Low minimum investment makes diversification easy

Cons

  • Long lock-up periods (5-25 years) for many projects; very limited secondary market
  • Project-specific risk: a single wind farm under-performing can hit returns
  • Yield is lower than property-secured P2P for similar tax shelter
  • No FSCS protection on the underlying bond holdings
Abundance fees page Visit Abundance Investment →

Assetz Exchange

Savers wanting exposure to UK commercial property income with a relatively flexible exit via the secondary market

Lending modelCommercial property loans (HMO + retail)
Headline yieldApprox 5.5% to 7.0% net of platform fees
Loan securityFirst charge on UK commercial property
Min investment£1
FSCS on uninvested cashYes (segregated client account)

Pros

  • Spin-off from Assetz Capital, retained for retail lending after parent pivoted
  • Focus on income-producing commercial property (HMOs, retail units, supported living)
  • Secondary market for trading positions before loan maturity
  • Very low minimum investment

Cons

  • Smaller platform than peers; less diversification across borrowers
  • Income depends on tenants paying rent; void periods reduce yield
  • Commercial property is more sensitive to economic downturns than residential
Assetz Exchange risk warning Visit Assetz Exchange →

Triodos Bank Crowdfunding

Savers who want crowdfunding exposure inside the umbrella of an established ethical bank, on a project-by-project basis

Lending modelBonds in mission-aligned businesses
Headline yieldApprox 4.5% to 7.0% per bond
Loan securityVaries by bond; some secured, some unsecured
Min investment£50
FSCS on uninvested cashYes (Triodos Bank is FSCS-covered)

Pros

  • Established ethical bank with a long crowdfunding track record
  • Mission-aligned investments: renewables, social housing, ethical food, fair trade
  • Transparent project disclosure for each bond offer

Cons

  • Bond-specific: you pick individual offers rather than a diversified pool
  • Long hold periods (5-15 years) with limited secondary market
  • Some bonds are unsecured corporate debt; security varies offer-by-offer
Triodos IFISA page Visit Triodos Bank Crowdfunding →

Honourable mentions

Abundance Investment

Runner-up

Best for: Ethical-investing savers willing to accept long lock-ups in exchange for putting money into UK renewable energy and community projects

The right pick if your motivation is ethical rather than yield-driven. Abundance lets you put money directly into specific UK renewable energy and community projects, with the IFISA tax shelter on top. Accept the long lock-ups as the cost of that direct funding model.

Visit Abundance Investment →

CrowdProperty

Runner-up

Best for: IFISA savers comfortable selecting individual property loans and willing to lock money in for 12-24 months per loan

For self-select investors who want to choose specific property loans and are willing to accept the concentration risk and lock-up that goes with it. Strong recovery track record when individual projects have under-performed.

Visit CrowdProperty →

How we picked

Platforms and structural features verified May 2026 against each provider's public terms and the FCA register. Yields are headline platform figures; actual returns depend on borrower performance. We exclude platforms that have entered administration, closed to new retail money, or operate without FCA authorisation. This is not personalised investment advice.

Background

What is an Innovative Finance ISA?

An IFISA is a tax wrapper around peer-to-peer loans and crowdfunded debt. You pay money in (up to the £20,000 annual ISA allowance shared across all wrapper types), the platform lends it out, and the interest you earn is tax-free inside the wrapper. The wrapper itself works the same way as a cash ISA or stocks and shares ISA for tax purposes; the difference is what's inside it. Cash ISAs hold deposits; stocks and shares ISAs hold investments; IFISAs hold loans. The HMRC-approved list of investments an IFISA can hold is narrower than for a stocks and shares ISA. It covers peer-to-peer loans, crowdfunded debt instruments, debentures issued through crowdfunding platforms, and certain renewable energy bonds. It does NOT cover equity crowdfunding (those go in a stocks and shares ISA, not an IFISA) or direct loans to your own company.

The FSCS gap

Cash sitting in a cash ISA with an FCA-regulated bank is covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme up to £85,000 per banking group. If the bank fails, you get your money back. IFISAs do not work that way. The FCA regulates the platforms, so you have recourse if the platform mis-sold a product or operated illegally. But the underlying loans are not deposits and are not insured. If a borrower defaults or the platform fails, you lose the money. Uninvested cash sitting in the platform's wallet between loans is usually held with an FSCS-protected bank, so that portion is covered, but the deployed loan capital is not. This is the single most important thing to understand before opening an IFISA. The headline yield is the market's price for the risk you are taking, not free money.

The 2019-2022 P2P shakeout

Several UK P2P platforms taking IFISA money have collapsed in recent years. Lendy went into administration in May 2019 with £165m of investor money. FundingSecure followed in October 2019 with around £80m. Collateral collapsed earlier and turned out to be operating without FCA permission. Funding Circle, the largest UK P2P lender, exited retail lending in 2022 - its IFISA is closed to new retail money. Zopa, the original UK peer-to-peer lender, pivoted to a bank in 2020 and wound down its peer-to-peer book entirely. The pattern: bad underwriting, optimistic loss assumptions, and a market that was harder than the platforms claimed. The platforms that survived tend to be the ones that lent against secured assets (property, project bonds) rather than unsecured personal or business loans. That's not a guarantee, but it's a structural feature worth weighing.

How the April 2027 cash ISA rules apply to IFISAs

HMRC's Tax-free savings newsletter 19 confirmed that the anti-circumvention rules in the 2027 cash ISA reform apply equally to IFISAs and stocks and shares ISAs. For under-65s from 6 April 2027: a charge on interest paid on cash held inside an IFISA, no transfers from an IFISA into a cash ISA, and 'cash-like' tests on what counts as an investment. The reforms target the same loophole on the IFISA side as on the S&S ISA side - using the wrapper as a high-yield cash account by holding uninvested capital long-term. They do not change the FSCS gap on the underlying loans, which remains the actual structural risk for IFISA savers.

Who suits an IFISA

For most UK savers, an IFISA is not the right wrapper. The yield premium over a cash ISA rarely compensates for the risk, and a stocks and shares ISA gives you access to publicly traded high-yield credit funds with daily liquidity, proper accounting, and the FSCS protections of a regulated investment platform. The narrow set of savers who can make a case for an IFISA: anyone with a fully funded emergency fund, fully filled pension, and stocks and shares ISA who has explicit appetite for a small slice (under 5% of net worth) of high-risk lending exposure; anyone using a renewable energy IFISA for ethical reasons (Abundance, Triodos) and accepting the long lock-up as the price of direct funding; and anyone who already invests directly in property development debt and wants the tax shelter. If you are funding an IFISA for the headline rate alone, you have probably misunderstood the product.

Frequently asked questions

Are IFISA returns guaranteed?
No. Returns depend on borrowers paying back their loans. If a borrower defaults, the platform may recover some of the loss from secured assets, but recoveries take months or years and rarely cover the full loan. The headline rates platforms publish are projected returns based on the assumption that loans perform.
What happens to my IFISA money if the platform goes bust?
Uninvested cash sitting in the platform wallet is usually held with an FSCS-protected bank, so that portion is covered up to £85,000. Money already lent to borrowers is not covered - an administrator takes over the loan book and tries to recover what it can over the years that follow. Recoveries have varied widely in past failures (Lendy investors are getting pennies in the pound; some smaller failures recovered more).
Can I transfer a cash ISA into an IFISA?
Yes, currently. The ISA transfer rules let you move money between cash, stocks and shares, and IFISA wrappers via your provider's formal transfer process (do not withdraw and re-deposit - that uses up fresh allowance). From April 2027, transfers from IFISAs INTO cash ISAs will be blocked for under-65s; transfers in the other direction (cash ISA to IFISA) remain allowed.
How much can I put in an IFISA each year?
Up to the £20,000 overall annual ISA allowance, shared across all your ISAs. If you put £15,000 in a cash ISA, you have £5,000 left for any combination of stocks and shares, IFISA, or Lifetime ISA in the same tax year. The £12,000 cap on cash ISAs from April 2027 does not change the IFISA cap.
Which IFISA platforms have failed?
Lendy (May 2019, £165m owed to investors), FundingSecure (October 2019, around £80m), and Collateral all collapsed. Funding Circle exited retail lending in 2022 (existing loans being run off, no new retail money accepted). Zopa pivoted to a bank in 2020 and closed its P2P book entirely. Several smaller platforms have failed or closed without publicly tracked figures.
Is an IFISA covered by FSCS?
Not for loan losses or borrower default. The FCA regulates the platforms, so you have recourse if a platform mis-sold a product or operated illegally. Uninvested cash sitting in the platform wallet is usually held with an FSCS-protected bank, so that portion is covered up to £85,000. The deployed loan capital is not.

Disclosure: Some links on this page may be affiliate links, which means we receive a small commission if you sign up. This never affects the rankings or which platforms we recommend. We only feature platforms that meet our editorial standards.