Richard Branson has a reputation for developing business ventures that give some very unfriendly industries a customer-service makeover. Two of his products in the U.S. market are the elegant discount-fare airline Virgin America and the pre-paid cell phone company Virgin Mobile USA. Now Branson wants to turn his attention to the banking field. While he doesn't yet own a bank, Branson is launching something called Virgin Money in Europe and the United States.
VirginMoneyUS.com is designed to help you make loans to friends and family members. The company handles all the paperwork, including sending notices about payments and collecting on debts in the event of default. Whether you use Virgin Money or not, the important thing to remember when you lend to family or friends is that you must do an arm's length transaction. That means you have to charge the market rate of interest to avoid getting into trouble with the IRS. You can always forgive interest of up to $12,000 per year under gift rules, but your loan must be structured as the real thing.