It's likely a question that dealerships and finance companies have asked potential buyers countless times in order to get a deal completed.

“How can you secure more money for the down payment? Is there a friend or a family member who could lend you the money?”

LendAmi estimated $288 billion in person-to-person loans are transacted each year in the U.S., much of that amount through verbal agreements.

Of those loans, LendAmi projected almost 50% are only partially paid back or not at all resulting in hurt feelings, damaged relationships and unwillingness to loan again.

Helping to solve this problem — and perhaps aid dealerships and finance companies in the process — LendAmi introduced an online person-to-person platform this week that can allow people to loan money to each other in a safe, secure and responsible manner.

Using LendAmis secure platform, borrowers and lenders negotiate terms, set up automatic bank ACH transfers and track the life of the loan.

LendAmis person-to-person lending platform allows people to document and manage personal loans online with people they know safely, securely and responsibly.

Affirming LendAmis mission to drive good outcomes between borrower and lender, co-founder Kerry Baldwin said, “Many of us have experienced relationship-based loans that have turned sour. By providing an easy way for people to transact personal loans between family and friends in a transparent manner, we can help drive good outcomes for both borrower and lender in a safe, secure and responsible environment.

“We’ve even built in the ability for people to document and pay back pre-existing loans that have gone off track,” Baldwin continued in a news release.

Leveraging teams in Miami and Jacksonville, Fla., the LendAmi platform is designed to allow users to transact loans with people they know. Borrowers and lenders mutually agree upon the loan amount, interest rate and repayment schedule and connect their banks for transfer of loan funds and repayments using ACH.

The firms explained Interest rate guardrails help keep users within local usury guidelines as well as help prevent gift tax consequences. Industry-leading fintech partners help ensure the security of bank transfers.

“We believe we have come into the market at just the right time. With increases in unemployment and under-employment due to COVID-19, LendAmi allows people to help others manage loans to their loved ones for urgent needs such as rent, utility bills, credit card debt, medical expenses, business continuity and other unforeseen expenditures,” co-founder Vikas Rijsinghani said.

“At the end of the day, that is our true mission. We facilitate people helping each other safely, securely and responsibly,” Rijsinghani went on to say.

More details about the platform can be found at www.lendami.com.