Lending Club, an organization that offers low-interest loans to businesses and individuals and that is funded by investors seeking higher-than-normal returns, said its service has expanded to Iowa.

Established in 2006 as an online marketplace for peer-to-peer lending, Lending Club said in a release that investors using its platform can invest in loans with as little as $25, with each fraction of a loan invested through a note.

Lending Club notes have historical returns of a little better than 5 percent to nearly 9 percent, according to the release.

Individual investors can use the platform to access consumer credit as an asset class not previously available to them, according to the release.

According to an article last year in the New York Times, the recent growth of peer-to-peer lenders has been driven in large part by institutional investors.

Lending Club, based in San Francisco, said it currently operates in 33 states and has recently added Iowa, Arkansas and Oklahoma to the mix.

Investors can create accounts at at www.lendingclub.com and choose either a traditional investment account or retirement account. Investors receive monthly payments of principal and interest as borrowers repay their loans, and can withdraw available cash at any time via a linked bank account, according to the release.