VILLYZ - Risk and return review
VILLYZ - Returns and loss rates
VILLYZ – Platform statistics 2026
4098
investors
VILLYZ – Pros & Cons
About VILLYZ
What it is
Villyz is a small Paris platform, set up in 2020, that lets people lend to the French public sector: town councils, public hospitals and care homes, and in a few cases renewable-energy companies. It has lent since May 2022. Its performance file shows 23 loans financed and paid out for €4.98 million (30 September 2026); its statistics page shows 26 projects financed, 22 being repaid and 4,098 investors (read 27 October 2026). Its terms also cover donations and a separate share offer.
How it works
You choose each project and invest from €1 in a fixed-rate loan or bond. Terms run from 12 months to eight years, repaid in instalments or at the end. There is no auto-invest and Villyz gives no risk grade per loan. Each project has a key information sheet, and non-professional investors can cancel within four days and get everything back, fees included.
Returns
The weighted average rate on all 23 loans since May 2022 is 3.59% a year (30 September 2026). Public-sector offers usually pay 2.8% to 3.3%; energy-company loans have paid up to 7%, which lifted the 2023 average to 6.36%. Loans made in 2025 averaged 3.12% and those made in 2026 3.37%. These are contract rates, but as no loan is late or lost they are also what is being paid: €173,917 of interest paid since 2022 (October 2026). They are before the entry fee and France's flat tax of 31.4%.
Losses and defaults
None so far. Villyz publishes a monthly indicators file with a default definition (more than 90 days late on a material payment, repayment judged unlikely, or insolvency proceedings). At 30 September 2026 its default rate was 0% in every year since 2022, no capital had been lost, and all 21 outstanding loans (€3.96 million) were paying on time. The book is young and small: only two loans had been fully repaid, and about a fifth of the capital returned (€1.05 million by October 2026). Payment dates before 29 June 2026 come from a data migration, so lateness for that period cannot be checked.
What secures your money
There is no security, buyback, reserve fund or insurance. For public bodies the protection is French public law: a council's or hospital's debt repayments are a compulsory expense, and if one does not budget for them, the state's representative (the prefect) can write them into its budget and order the payment. Public bodies cannot be liquidated like companies, so the realistic bad case is a delay rather than a loss. Councils must also pass legal financial-health tests before they may borrow this way. None of this applies to the renewable-energy company loans, which are unsecured and can fail like any business. No recovery has been needed so far.
Who runs it and its licence
Villyz SAS (Paris companies register 884 826 520, share capital €4,493) is authorised by France's market regulator, the AMF, as a European crowdfunding service provider, licence FP-2022-1, since 6 September 2022 for loans and 8 November 2022 for bonds and shares. Investors' money is held in segregated accounts at Mangopay, an electronic money institution supervised in Luxembourg. Villyz says that if it stopped trading, another operator would take over the live loans under its business continuity plan, and your contract is directly with the borrower.
Fees
Investors pay a one-time service fee on each subscription, VAT included: 0.99% on the first €1,000, 0.69% from €1,000 to €10,000 and 0.39% above, with a minimum of €1. Fees are halved on loans of 24 months or less, and refunded if you cancel within four days. There are no ongoing or exit fees. Borrowers pay a commission of up to 5% of the target amount.
Getting your money out
There is no secondary market: Villyz says your money is locked for the length of the loan. Apart from the four-day cancellation right, your money comes back only through the borrower's repayments, over up to eight years.
Our view
Return: Very Low — 3.59% a year on average, before fees and tax. Risk: Very Low (higher means more risk) — no defaults or losses, clear published definitions, and mostly public borrowers that are legally bound to pay; the book is still young and the few energy loans carry company risk. Risk-return: Medium — a low but steady return for a very low level of risk, with your money locked in.
Regulation
License / Regulation: Crowdfunding service provider authorised by the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), France, under Regulation (EU) 2020/1503: licence FP-2022-1, granted 6 September 2022 (facilitation of loans) and 8 November 2022 (placement of bonds and shares).
Functionality
For Investors
For Fund Seekers
Useful Information
Yes. France's market regulator, the AMF, authorised Villyz as a European crowdfunding service provider (licence FP-2022-1) on 6 September 2022 for loans, and on 8 November 2022 for bonds and shares.
Mangopay, an electronic money institution supervised in Luxembourg, holds it in segregated wallets until it goes to the project. Villyz never holds client money.
€1, but the service fee has a minimum of €1 per subscription, so very small amounts are costly. Some projects cap how much each investor can put in.
The weighted average rate on all loans since 2022 is 3.59% a year (30 September 2026), before fees and tax. No loan has defaulted and no capital has been lost; all 21 outstanding loans were paying on time.
No security, guarantee or insurance. For councils and public hospitals, French law makes debt repayment a compulsory expense that the prefect can enforce, and public bodies cannot be liquidated, so the realistic risk is delay. Loans to renewable-energy companies have no such protection.
No. There is no secondary market; your money is locked for the loan's term, up to eight years. Non-professional investors can cancel within four days of subscribing and get their money and fees back.
A one-time fee per subscription: 0.99% on the first €1,000, 0.69% up to €10,000 and 0.39% above, minimum €1, halved for loans of 24 months or less. No ongoing fees. Interest is taxed at France's 31.4% flat rate by default.
If Villyz stopped trading, its business continuity plan has another operator take over the live loans, and your contract is directly with the borrower. If an energy company failed, you could lose money; a public body cannot be liquidated, but could pay late.
Most borrowers are French public bodies, which borrow cheaply because they are legally bound to repay. Public-sector offers usually pay 2.8% to 3.3% a year; the few energy-company loans pay more because they carry company risk.
