Jasmine Birtles
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6 Best IFISAs (Innovative Finance ISAs) to Consider in 2026
Ruby Layram
29th Jun 2026
If you have already used up your enthusiasm for cash ISAs and you fancy something with a bit more bite, an Innovative Finance ISA might have crossed your radar. IFISAs let you lend your money to people, businesses and property developers, and pocket the interest completely tax-free.
The catch? They sit at the riskier end of the ISA family, and they are not for everyone. So before we get into our pick of the best IFISAs to consider in 2026, let’s be clear about what you are actually signing up for.
An IFISA is a high-risk investment. You may not be able to access your money easily, and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong. The value of your investment, and any income from it, is not guaranteed. Take two minutes to understand the risks before you commit.
With that said, IFISAs can be a genuinely useful tool for the right investor. Here’s everything you need to know, plus the six providers we think are worth a closer look this year.
The best IFISAs in 2026 at a glance
- Best for lower-risk, more accessible lending: Loanpad
- Best for brand recognition and a beginner-friendly setup: easyMoney
- Best for a choice of fixed terms: Kuflink
- Best for experienced and high-net-worth investors: CapitalRise
- Best for commercial property and income: Proplend
- Best for ethical investing: Triodos
All six providers are authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. Target returns are not guaranteed and rates can change, so always check the provider’s current rates and key information document before investing. Capital at risk.
What is an IFISA?
An Innovative Finance ISA, or IFISA for short, is a type of ISA that holds peer-to-peer loans rather than cash or shares. Instead of leaving your money with a bank, you lend it directly to borrowers through an online platform, and they pay you interest in return.
Those borrowers might be property developers, small businesses or individuals. In 2026, the vast majority of IFISAs on the market are property-backed, which means the loans are secured against bricks and mortar that can be sold if a borrower cannot pay you back.
More recently, the IFISA rules have widened to include things like long-term asset funds and open-ended property funds too, so you may see a few of those creeping in.
The headline appeal is the same as any ISA: every penny of interest you earn inside the wrapper is free from UK tax. Outside an ISA, peer-to-peer interest is taxable as income, so the shelter can make a real difference, especially if you are a higher-rate taxpayer.
Are IFISAs safe? The risks you need to weigh up
This is the part most “best of” lists skim over, and it is the most important bit. IFISAs are classed as high-risk by the FCA, and here is why.
They are not protected by the FSCS. Unlike cash held in a bank or building society, the loans inside your IFISA are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. If a borrower defaults, or the platform itself fails, you could lose some or all of your money.
Borrowers can default. Your return depends on borrowers repaying their loans. Good platforms vet borrowers carefully and secure loans against assets like property, but defaults still happen, and recovering your money can take time.
Your money can be hard to get out. IFISAs are not designed for short-term savings. You may have to wait until loans are repaid before you can withdraw, and in tough markets that can take months. Some platforms offer a secondary market to sell your loans early, but a buyer is never guaranteed.
Platforms have collapsed before. Several well-known peer-to-peer lenders have closed in recent years, which is exactly why the FCA tightened the rules and why you will be asked to complete an appropriateness test, and often to confirm what type of investor you are, before you can open one.
An IFISA should only ever be a slice of a wider portfolio, funded with money you can afford to tie up and, if the worst happens, lose. Spreading your cash across lots of individual loans, and ideally more than one platform, is the single best way to manage the risk.
The best IFISAs to consider in 2026 compared
| Provider | Best for | What you’re lending to | Target return | Minimum | Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loanpad | Lower-risk, accessible lending | Secured property loans (senior position) | Around 5% to 5.8% | £1 (£500 to transfer in) | Daily or 60-day, not guaranteed |
| easyMoney | Beginner-friendly setup | Property-backed loans | Tiered, roughly 5% to 8% | From around £100 | Term-based |
| Kuflink | Choice of fixed terms | Secured property and bridging loans | Up to around 9% | £500 | 1, 2 or 3-year terms |
| CapitalRise | Experienced and high-net-worth investors | Prime property development | Around 8% to 10% | £1,000 per loan | Until the loan repays |
| Proplend | Commercial property and income | Commercial property loans (by tranche) | Around 5% to 10% | £1,000 per loan | Loan term or secondary market |
| Triodos | Ethical investing | Bonds in mission-driven organisations | Varies by bond | Varies by bond | Until the bond matures |
Target returns are illustrative, variable and not guaranteed. Always check the latest figures with the provider. Capital at risk. Not covered by the FSCS.
1. Loanpad: best for lower-risk, more accessible lending
If the idea of an IFISA appeals but the risk makes you nervous, Loanpad is the one we’d point you towards first. It is widely regarded as one of the most cautious property lenders in the market, and for good reason.
Your money is automatically spread across hundreds of secured property loans, and crucially you lend in the “senior” position. That means if a borrower runs into trouble and the property has to be sold, you are first in line to be repaid, while Loanpad’s lending partners absorb the first chunk of any losses. The loans are also kept to conservative loan-to-value ratios, typically no more than around half the property’s value.
There are two accounts to choose from. The Classic account offers daily access and a slightly lower rate, while the Premium account pays a bit more in exchange for 60 days’ notice. Interest is paid daily, and you can start with as little as £1.
Things to consider: access is never guaranteed, even on the Classic account, and the steady, lower-risk approach means returns are more modest than the racier platforms on this list.
What we like: to date, no Loanpad investor has lost any of their capital, and the platform is refreshingly transparent about its loan book. For a first toe in the IFISA water, that track record counts for a lot.
2. easyMoney: best for a beginner-friendly setup
Part of the easyGroup family (yes, the same brand behind the orange planes), easyMoney has become one of the better-known names in the IFISA world, and it scooped IFISA Provider of the Year at the 2024 Alternative Credit Investor awards.
Its IFISA is property-backed, with your money lent against UK property and spread across a range of loans. The rates are tiered, so the more you invest, the higher the target return you can access. The platform has now arranged more than £500 million in loans and, like Loanpad, reports a zero capital loss record to its investors so far.
Things to consider: the headline rates apply to the higher investment tiers, so smaller investors will see more modest returns. As always, check which tier you would actually fall into.
What we like: it is one of the more approachable platforms for someone opening their first IFISA, with a recognisable brand behind it and a clear, no-nonsense sign-up process.
3. Kuflink: best for a choice of fixed terms
Kuflink has been around since 2011 and launched its peer-to-peer platform in 2017, so it is one of the more established players. It lends against secured property and bridging loans, and it stands out for letting you pick a fixed term that suits you.
You can choose a 1, 2 or 3-year term, with longer terms generally paying more, and target rates that have reached as high as around 9% during promotional periods. The minimum investment is £500, and Kuflink doesn’t charge platform or investment fees, which is a nice touch. It also tends to co-invest its own money in the deals it offers, which means it has skin in the game alongside you.
Things to consider: locking in for a fixed term means your money is committed for that period, so only invest what you are happy to tie up.
What we like: the fixed-term structure makes it easy to match your IFISA to a specific goal and timeline, and the fee-free model keeps things simple.
4. CapitalRise: best for experienced and high-net-worth investors
CapitalRise takes a more specialist route, focusing on prime property development in sought-after locations such as central London, an area where many lenders tread carefully. It has built a strong track record on this lending, with target returns historically in the region of 8% to 10%.
The trade-off is that this one is not open to everyone. You typically need to be classified as a sophisticated or high-net-worth investor to take part, and the minimum is around £1,000 per loan, so it is aimed squarely at people who already have some investing experience and a larger pot to work with.
Things to consider: the investor classification requirement and higher minimums put this out of reach for many beginners, and prime property is not immune to a downturn.
What we like: for experienced investors who understand the risks, CapitalRise offers access to a corner of the property market that is hard to reach elsewhere, with a record that backs up its standards.
5. Proplend: best for commercial property and income
Proplend lends against commercial property, think offices, warehouses and retail units, and it has a clever structure that lets you choose your own risk level. Loans are split into tranches based on loan-to-value, so you can opt for the lower-risk, lower-return slice (where the loan is a smaller share of the property’s value) or a higher-return tranche that carries more risk.
Target returns range from around 5% to 10% depending on the tranche you pick, with a minimum of £1,000 per loan. Because the loans pay regular interest, it can suit investors looking for an income stream rather than just long-term growth.
Things to consider: commercial property has its own cycles, and the higher-LTV tranches carry meaningfully more risk for that extra return. As ever, spread your money around.
What we like: the tranche system gives you genuine control over how much risk you take, which is unusual and useful. The property security on Proplend’s loans is also well regarded.
6. Triodos: best for ethical investing
If you want your money doing some good as well as earning a return, Triodos is the obvious choice. The ethical banking pioneer offers an IFISA through its crowdfunding platform, where you can invest in bonds issued by mission-driven organisations, from renewable energy projects to social housing and charities.
Rather than spreading your money automatically, you choose the specific bonds you want to back, so you can see exactly where your cash is going. Returns vary from bond to bond, and you are usually locked in until the bond matures.
Things to consider: because you select individual bonds, this takes a bit more involvement, and the investments are illiquid. You should expect to hold them for the full term, and as with every IFISA, your capital is at risk.
What we like: for values-led investors, Triodos is in a league of its own. Few platforms let you earn tax-free returns while directly funding the kind of projects you actually believe in.
How to choose the best IFISA for you
There’s no single best IFISA, only the one that fits your goals and your appetite for risk. Here’s what we’d weigh up before opening one.
The security behind the loans. Property-backed lending, with conservative loan-to-value ratios and a senior lending position, generally carries less risk than unsecured lending. Check what your money is actually being lent against.
The platform’s track record. How long has it been operating? What is its history of defaults and, crucially, actual losses to investors? Established platforms that are open with their data should give you more confidence.
Diversification. The best platforms automatically spread your money across lots of individual loans, so one bad borrower doesn’t sink your return. The more loans your cash is split across, the better.
Access to your money. Be honest about when you might need the cash. Some platforms offer daily access or a secondary market, but none can guarantee it, so never invest money you’ll need in a hurry.
Fees and minimums. Check for platform fees, and make sure the minimum investment suits your budget.
IFISA rules and your 2026/27 allowance
IFISAs share the same tax-free allowance as the rest of the ISA family. Here are the rules worth knowing.
You can invest up to £20,000. For the 2026/27 tax year, the total ISA allowance is £20,000, and it is shared across all your ISAs. You could put the whole lot in an IFISA, or split it between an IFISA, a cash ISA and a stocks and shares ISA.
You can hold more than one. Since April 2024, you can pay into multiple IFISAs in the same tax year, with different providers, as long as you stay within your £20,000 allowance.
You need to be 18 and a UK resident. As with most adult ISAs, you must be at least 18 years old and resident in the UK for tax purposes.
You can transfer in. You can move money from an existing cash ISA or stocks and shares ISA into an IFISA without losing your tax-free status. Always use the provider’s official transfer process rather than withdrawing the money yourself, because withdrawing it strips away the ISA wrapper and uses up your allowance when you put it back.
Watch the 2027 change. From April 2027, the amount under-65s can put into a cash ISA will be cut to £12,000. The £20,000 limit for IFISAs and stocks and shares ISAs stays put, so this rule change may make tax-free investing more appealing for some savers.
How we chose these IFISAs
We looked at the IFISAs currently available to UK investors and assessed each one on the security behind its loans, its track record and history of investor losses, how it diversifies your money, its fees and minimum investment, and how transparent it is about its loan book. We focused on FCA-authorised platforms with a solid operating history, and we have been upfront about who each one suits, because an IFISA that’s right for a seasoned property investor is rarely right for a complete beginner.
The bottom line
An IFISA can be a smart way to earn tax-free returns that comfortably beat a cash ISA, but only if you go in with your eyes open. These are high-risk investments, they aren’t FSCS-protected, and your money can be tied up for longer than you’d like.
If you’re new to all this, a lower-risk, property-backed option like Loanpad or a recognisable name like easyMoney is a sensible place to start reading. If you’re more experienced, CapitalRise and Proplend open up parts of the property market that are hard to reach elsewhere. And if you want your money to do some good, Triodos is hard to beat.
Whatever you choose, only invest what you can afford to lose, spread your money around, and treat your IFISA as one piece of a bigger, well-diversified plan. If you’re not sure an IFISA is right for you, it’s always worth speaking to an FCA-regulated financial adviser first.
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