Comments on: Kiva Review: Micro Lending With A Global Reach

By: Janet G

Janet G — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 23:31:28 +0000

You didn’t mention the huge interest on the loans that the financial institutions are charging those poor people. The average loan interest that those financial institutions charge is 23%!

This is unfair. How can you loan a poor person 100 dollars and expect them to pay the financial institutions back 123 dollars (or more!!) ?

By: Central Bank News

Central Bank News — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 03:04:40 +0000

If you are a non-US lender you may expose yourself to USD fluctuations against your home currency, which could be upside or downside. You could add more to your account when your home currency is stronger vs the US dollar. Of course – you can gain currency exposure by a lot of other means.

I do wonder though, if you can gain from currency fluctuations in the actual loans you make — you can be exposed on the downside apparently… anyone know the answer?

By: Snowball

Snowball — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:12:39 +0000

Another thing to think about is that you could do some good for the world while sheltering your money. For example, if you needed your savings to appear temporarily lower while your kids are applying for college — put it with Kiva, then take it back after awhile. win win

By: The Smarter Wallet

The Smarter Wallet — Fri, 21 May 2010 13:31:14 +0000

@Evance,
This article points you to how you can get a loan — you’d do it through Kiva. Please visit their site for more information. You can sign up with them and see if you qualify for a loan. Best of luck!

By: Evance Mwijage

Evance Mwijage — Thu, 20 May 2010 16:09:38 +0000

Thanks a lot for lifting peoples lives, I am a Tanzanian who wants to open the shop in Dar-es-salaam. Unfortunately, I have no way to start. So I’m asking if you can help me get a LOAN to fulfill my dreams. I hope you can send me the procedures on what to do. Thanks for your kindness.

By: Deborah

Deborah — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 18:05:17 +0000

Would I have to file a tax form at the end of the year with the IRS on the lending of my money? If so… what form would I need to use for that?

Thanks

By: The Smarter Wallet

The Smarter Wallet — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:53:41 +0000

Thanks for the discussion on tax deductibility when making loans vs donations. It’s definitely something that needs clarification when people get involved with dealing with non-profits.

By: Michael Bonanno

Michael Bonanno — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:34:42 +0000

Actually I have to correct Kieran. Because Kiva is considered a Non-Profit and you are making a loan..it is not tax deductible. Only when you are making a donation is the money deductible.

Hope this helps clarify the tax comments.

Best of luck!

Michael Bonanno

By: Kieran

Kieran — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 14:36:24 +0000

Another reason why Kiva might be beneficial to the lender is that the investment is tax deductible as it is considered a donation.

I do lend at Kiva for altruistic reasons. It’s the feel good helping hand action. For return on investment, I prefer Lending Club over the other p2p lending sites.