Two new startups promise to ease the pain of borrowing money by making the lenders into your friends rather than banks.

One is called Lendstar, based in Germany, and the other is Puddle. Lendstar launched last March, and unveiled more marketing last week. Puddle launched in April 2012, but the company is doing another financing round now that includes an investment by CrunchFund.

Puddle declares users can create a line of credit with friends, while Lensdstar allows friends to borrow and lend money using its mobile app.

Puddle’s take is a bit more ambitious. The company writes:

Pool money with people you trust, set the interest rate, and anyone can borrow when they need it. When you pay back, it goes to the group. No fees, no applications, and your friends share in your success. It’s the first do-it-yourself credit creation app.

Lendstar, with its tagline, “Trust your friends, not banks,” presents its product this way:

You don’t lend the money to make profit, but to help each other to realize dreams, a system based on mutuality. Lendstar not only leads to lively interaction between the users, but also avoids problems that arise from private money-lending.

“Lively interaction” sounds fun.

Both apps look to do an end run around traditional lenders, but simply using a smartphone doesn’t change the fundamental issue: It’s dangerous lending and borrowing money among friends.

With both companies are actively raising a round, we ask, would you invest money in a venture based on friends loaning each other money? Or, put another way, are you interested in “lively interaction”?