Keeping up with the customer in the digital age
Demanding customers, increasing regulation and clunky IT systems are proving serious speed bumps for Australian companies who want to grow in the digital age. Lending is facing a particularly sensitive atmosphere because of the banking royal commission, with many disruptors investing heavily in “regtech” – technology that simplifies compliance. These were some of the views aired by participants at a recent business roundtable event hosted by Fairfax Media and KPMG Enterprise which discussed Australia’s digital transformation. Anthony Baum, the CEO of Tic:Toc, which provides home loans that can be fully approved within 22 minutes, says technology is “way better” than traditional manual loan approval methods. “40 per cent of people […]
A dive into the US mortgage market could be a Credible move for this ASX fintech
Its latest earnings may have fallen short, but student loan comparison site Credible Labs still has fans as it pushes hard to ramp up its new mortgage loan business. Credible (ASX:CRD) — founded in San Francisco five years ago by Australian investment banker Stephen Dash — hit the ASX late last year, issuing shares at $1.21. Of the $50 million raised through its IPO, $15 million was taken out by the company’s original backers. The bulk of the money, some $31 million, was earmarked to spend developing its platform which targets US consumers. Even though its existing business is centred on student loan refinancing, investors are much more interested in […]
Wisr appointed to leading aggregator Connective broker panel
Neo-lender Wisr (ASX: WZR) has significantly expanded one of its personal loan origination channels after the company was appointed to the panel of Connective, Australia’s leading mortgage broker aggregator. Almost 3,000 brokers on the Connective platform will be able to introduce personal loans to Wisr from 1 August 2018. More than 20% of brokers in Australia aggregate through Connective, which had more than $41.5 billion in settled loans in FY2017. This addition to a key channel follows Wisr’s previously reported record growth rate in loan originations, with total loan origination value in H2FY18 rising by 136% on the previous six months. Today’s announcement means that, in conjunction with other key […]
Australian fintech Tic:Toc closes successful Series B funding
Australian fintech Tic:Toc, the world’s only fully digital home loan platform, today announced it has closed its Series B round, raising $11.5M in funding. The Series B funding, led by Genworth Mortgage Insurance Australia Limited (Genworth Australia) and Blackstone group entity La Trobe Financial, includes both new and existing investors and adds significant depth to the Tic:Toc share register, which also includes Bendigo and Adelaide Bank. The funding will allow Tic:Toc to further advance the capability of its platform as well as build greater brand awareness. It will also partially fund Tic:Toc ’s pending expansion into offering its automated assessment platform as a service to partners, as well as exploration […]
Joust taps new Australian crowdfunding rules in bid to raise $2 million
Joust, an Adelaide based fintech that brings competitive tension to the home loan market by linking borrowers directly with over 20 lenders who compete against each other in real-time, has launched an equity crowdfunding campaign to raise $2 million. The Joust platform brings disruption to the $1.7 trillion home loan mortgage market where $2 billion in fees are paid to mortgage brokers annually. Described as a “consumer hero” fintech company – as Joust places the power back in consumers’ hands – Joust uses technology to provide transparency, competitive tension and superior customer outcomes to the home loan market. Key points: • Aiming to disrupt the mortgage broker channel under siege […]
$2bn of broker commissions in fintech’s crosshairs
An Australian fintech has set its sights on disrupting the dominance of the mortgage broking industry by appealing to the banks who it claims are keen to reduce the $2 billion they spend on broker commissions. Adelaide-based online home loan platform Joust has distanced itself from its competitors in the fintech space, which has seen a flurry of mortgage disruptors in recent years. “Joust is not a comparison site with a myriad of static rates. It is also not an online broker or aggregator. We are a revolutionary marketplace model for home loan customers and lenders,” Joust co-founder and CEO Mark Bevan said. Joust is leveraging the negative press that […]
Bank of Queensland bans using home equity loans for crypto
Lenders are banning property buyers from using home equity to buy cryptocurrencies because of regulatory fears and increased risk from volatile trading conditions. Bank of Queensland is the latest to ban any drawdown or lines of credit from loans to be used for leveraged purchases, trading or other use of the largely unregulated global digital currency. Other lenders are discouraging borrowers and mortgage brokers, who act as intermediaries between lenders and borrowers, from using real estate to fund high-risk investments. Leveraged currency plays can magnify gains from a successful investment decision but worsen losses. Lenders are asking questions and monitoring borrowers’ accounts to alert them to crypto-trades, purchases, or offshore […]
The fintech transformation
According to one fintech expert, brokers could soon be replaced by smart speakers. But will customers embrace such a technological leap? Until the early 2000s, the process of booking a holiday involved trips to multiple travel agencies, hours thumbing through glossy brochures, and more sit-down meetings than the average mortgage currently requires. Today it’s a task that can be completed on a mobile phone during a coffee break. There are many reasons why the travel industry experienced such a shift, from the lure of competitive prices to the convenience of consumers becoming their own armchair agents. People simply wanted to take more control. Seeing the same demands echo throughout the […]
