Frequently asked questions

1. Crowdfunding – what is it?

It is a way of fundraising through an online platform where the people with great ides raise money for their project from individuals in various amounts. The main idea behind crowd-funding is that money is invested from one person to another. Crowd-funding can take many forms:

Rewards-based – investing for non-monetary rewards (goods or services);
Donation-based – investing for no consideration, for emotion;
Equity-based – invested in exchange for equity (shares, real estate);
Debt-based (P2P lending) – investing in a loan to recover not only the amount invested but also the interest.

2. What is Profitus?

Profitus is a crowd-funding platform, an intermediary between investors and those seeking finance. The investment opportunities provided by the Profitus platform are always backed by real estate collateral. Profitus raises money for real estate project development and other business loans, but in all cases the borrower pledges real estate as a guarantee to investors.

3. How do we work?

Profitus selects and places on the website projects to which investors are invited to invest according to the terms and conditions set out in the description. Investors are mortgaged with real estate and paid interest on the project, which is a guarantee that their investment will be repaid.

Profitus oversees the borrower’s timely settlement with investors and fully represents the interests of investors. On the other hand, Profitus is a great help for business as it mobilizes funding from a wide range of investors, manages paperwork, and provides a platform for easy reporting to investors.

4. Why does Profitus host only real estate projects?

Real estate in Lithuania is considered one of the most attractive investments because it is:

Inflation-resistant;
Generates additional income;
Is tangible.

In Lithuania, real estate is also regarded as one of the safest investments. Therefore, all projects on the Profitus platform are pledged.

5. Are the activities of Profitus regulated?

The activities of the operator of the Profitus platform is supervised by the Bank of Lithuania. Also, Profitus, as a platform operator, is listed in the public list of crowd-funding platform operators and operates in accordance with the Law on Crowd-funding, the Law on Legal Protection of Personal Data of the Republic of Lithuania, Rules on Acceptance of Financing Transactions by Operators of Peer-to-Peer Platforms and Assessment of the Reliability of Project Owners, Law on Companies. Thus, the activities of Profitus platform are regulated and supervised quite strictly.

6. What kind of projects are funded by Profitus platform?

Profitus collects money for real estate development of various purposes and other business loans that are pledged using real estate. If you are interested in financing options call +37063760776 or e-mail at [email protected]

7. What is the basis for making transactions on Profitus platform?

Profitus platform does not perform any monetary operations itself. Your money transactions are made through the payment systems integrated in the platform, Paysera or Trustly.

8. What is the basis for the risk assessment of project owners?

The risk is assessed on the basis of the Law on Crowd-funding, the internal algorithm of the project and project owner assessment, which results in assigning a risk rating to the project (A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D). The internal algorithm is calculated based on information from state and other registries, reports from independent real estate appraisers, and the help of in-house professional analysts.

9. Who does Profitus work with?

Profitus consults with the Bank of Lithuania in order to ensure perfect compliance with the law. Monetary operations on the platform are carried out in cooperation with Paysera and Trustly. The legal framework is coordinated with lawyers from the law firm Sorainen. The risk relating to the project and project owner are assessed on the basis of information provided by Creditinfo.

10. Does registration on the Profitus platform is free of charge?

Registration for natural persons (both investor and project owner) is completely free.

11. How do I create a PROFITUS account?

You can create an account by clicking on the button “Sign in” in the right-hand corner of the page and filling in the short registration form. Remember to identify yourself, because then you will get detailed information about the real estate project.

12. What happens if Profitus fails?

Profitus only acts as an intermediary, so there would be a direct investor-to-owner relationship in case the activity stops. As the project owner’s assets are pledged to the platform that, by law, represents the interests of investors, the assets will remain with investors.

13. How to transfer money to/from Paysera account?

You must complete the following steps to add money to your account:

1. Log in/sign up for Profitus.

2. When at Profitus self-service, perform identity verification through Paysera payment system. If your identity is verified, you can already invest. If you see that your identity has not been verified, follow the instructions below.

3. Click on the “Verify your identity” box to verify your identity. After completing the questionnaire, you will be directed to the Paysera identification environment. Follow the Paysera instructions.

4. If you see a cash balance on your Paysera account when you return to Profitus self-service with your account name, your identity has been successfully verified. You can invest.

Transfers from Paysera account to another bank are done in the same way as in banks. This requires filling in the payee details, bank account number, and purpose. To transfer money from Paysera to another payment system you will need to provide the customer number or other details of that system depending on the payment system.

You can add money to your Paysera account from any bank in the world or by depositing cash through the Paysera partner network. After logging in to your Paysera account and selecting the section “Adding money to your account”, all you have to do is choose which way you want to add money to your account. You will receive step-by-step instructions on how to add money to your account.

14. When does interest start to run?

Interest shall start to run on the next business day following the pledge of the property and the transfer of the money to the borrower.

15. Why do I need a personal number when I verify my identity?

The personal number is used to identify the investor as required by the laws of the Republic of Lithuania.

16. Why does Profitus ask for additional documentation to authenticate or fill out a customer form?

Crowd-funding platform operators and other financial institutions must comply with the requirements of the Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing and properly identify their clients and implement the “Know Your Client” principle.

On this basis, Profitus requests information from customers about their identity, activities and planned operations on the Platform, and requests the completion of a customer questionnaire.

We are prohibited by law from transacting with customers who have not provided us with the required information. Therefore, if the customer fails to provide the requested documentation after repeated requests, the customer’s operations may be suspended (e.g. for example, investing in projects, publishing them, suspending payments of benefits, etc. will not be allowed until the requested documentation is submitted), and customer information may be passed on to the responsible public authorities.

Your invested funds, interest payable will then remain secure and can be recovered as soon as you submit the requested information and/or documents.