Australian FinTech company profile #40 – Credit Card Compare
1. Company Name: Credit Card Compare
2. Website: www.CreditCardCompare.com.au
3. Key Staff & Titles: Andrew Boyd, Co-founder; David Boyd, Co-founder
4. Location(s): Port Macquarie
5. In one sentence, what does your fintech do?: Credit Card Compare helps Australian consumers save money, earn rewards, and make better financial decisions.
6. How / why did you start your fintech company?: The first version of our website was an off-the-shelf comparison script. We did everything ourselves with the help of one outsourced developer. We had no investors and still don’t, so you could say it has been bootstrapped from the ground up. Why did we start? Because we knew Australians were missing out on the best deals. Back when we started, there really was no established culture of comparison and to some degree, that’s still the case today with the big four holding the cards (no pun intended). But, it is changing.
7. What the best thing your company has achieved or learnt along the way (this can include awards, capital raising etc)?: One of the highlights was our acquisition of Finty (https://finty.com/) in Singapore. Whilst any acquisition is challenging since there are different teams, technologies, and processes to integrate, we still see South East Asia as a very exciting market for the coming years as the middle classes grow and demand for finance grows. And in Australia, we just recently released a credit monitoring app, called Credit Health, which is the first app of its kind in Australia. Getting that to market first was an achievement for the company especially since it meant coming to terms with unfamiliar mobile frameworks, building new APIs, designing entirely new user experiences, etc.
8. What’s some advice you’d give to an aspiring start-up?: Any industry looks a lot easier from the outside than it really is. So when you are starting something new, prepare to scratch the surface and discover all kinds of challenges. Some of these you can deal with and some will be outside your control.
9. What’s next for your company? And are you looking to expand overseas or stay focussed on Australia?: We want to share our free credit score service with as many Australians as possible.
10. What other fintechs or companies do you admire?: I like where Apple are going with Apple Pay and think it may be more disruptive than the banks think, especially if draws big tech into mainstream consumer finance. In Australia, I admire what Raiz are doing—their app is beautifully designed. Several of our team are customers and have had good results. Up too. If they set out to create a brand and service that looks, feels, and performs like a modern take on banking without the legacy, then I think they’ve achieved that in spades.
11. What’s the most interesting or funniest moment that’s happened in your company’s lifetime?: I could tell you a story about the first time I met our head of sales—and what he was wearing at the time—but he would kill me.
