P2P, P2P net loan and Internet banking, May 21, 2015. [Photo: ImagineChina]

The latest data shows China's peer-to-peer lending platforms transacted a record-high 60.9 billion yuan, nearly 9.8 billion US dollars in May.

The transactions jumped 10.6 percent from April, and nearly up 2.7 times from a year earlier.

An online lending portal says the annual transactions involving P2P websites are estimated to exceed 800 billion yuan this year.

P2P lending, which allows individuals to borrow money from other individuals without going through banking system, is booming in China. Borrowers get easier access to loans, and lenders are able to charge higher interest rates.

But the current lax rules have seen the number of problematic platforms rise to 59 in May from 52 in April, with nearly 62 percent of them being fraudulent sites that closed suddenly.