86 400 ready to kick home loan business into high gear

A year on from obtaining its full banking licence, Australia’s first smartbank is confident it has entered the next phase in its evolution and reports the mortgage side of the business is “primed for growth”.

To date, 86 400 has over 225,000 accounts on its platform, holds more than $300m in customer deposits, and has processed over $1bn in transactions.

The group launched its home loan product within nine weeks of being granted its licence and remains the only Australian neobank to provide mortgages; now, 86 400 reports having reached $40m in loans settled and awaiting settlement.

“We had the mortgage product live very quickly after licencing. The reality though, is it was in a pilot phase for some time,” explained 86 400 CEO Robert Bell.

“There was a lot of learning throughout that. I think we’ve made over 100 changes to our systems, policies, and processes since then.”

The adjustments made following the initial launch were directly shaped by broker feedback.

“We’ve been gradually and very carefully putting on more mortgage brokers. We didn’t want to have 1,000 on day one. We started with quite a small, controlled group to make sure the experience was really good,” said Bell.

“We’re happy that most of the time we’re getting under 24 hour approval of home loans, so we’re more confident now to start having more accredited brokers and we’re absolutely ready to deal with higher volumes.”

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