The future is looking bright for alternative lenders. Last week, based peer-to-peer lending service Lending Club (LC) went public with a splash: it raised $870 million, making it the largest U.S. tech IPO this year, according to PrivCo. On its coattails, OnDeck Capital (ONDK) -- another alternative lender -- went public this week, raising $200 million. A wealth of non-traditional alternatives have popped up online over the last eight years. They cater to those who need fast cash -- and who might not qualify for traditional bank loans, which tend to require flawless credit and have exhaustive approval processes. Many have websites that are "reminiscent of a social platform," said Mitchell D. Weiss, adjunct professor of finance at the University of Hartford. "Its clean, its crisp."

http://money.cnn.com/2014/12/18/smallbusiness/alternative-lending-millennials/index.html?source=yahoo_quote