ThinCats, the Tamworth-based peer-to-peer online lending platform, has joined trade body the Peer to Peer Finance Association (P2PFA).
It was a reflection on the growing success and expansion of the sector, managing director Kevin Caley said.
ThinCats was launched in January 2011 and has experienced rapid success, having lent more than £29m since its formation.
The P2PFA was born out of a goal to establish high standards of conduct and customer service and provides a clear voice to policy makers from within the sector.
Earlier this year, the government announced the sector would be regulated from next April and the P2PFA is taking a leading role in discussions over how this will be implemented.
Caley added: "We fully support regulation and the benefits this brings for consumers and by working together the sector has a much better chance of achieving a regulatory structure that does not stifle the innovation that has been shown by P2P operators so far.
"The P2PFA has done an excellent job of representing its members in the sector and we are excited about joining them and making the association even more representative of the diverse nature of P2P operators."