How a Single Mother and First-time Entrepreneur is Helping People Get Loans in Five Days Using Blockchain
Founder Ruth Hatherley says the technology is a component of Australian fintech start-up Moneycatcha’s overall technical architecture. In 2015, few things happened in Ruth Hatherley’s life that put her “at a bit of a crossroads”. The single mother-of-one then decided to invest all her life savings into creating a prototype of Moneycatcha. Today, Moneycatcha is one of Australia’s leading fintech startups that uses blockchain to make the process of getting home loans quicker and cheaper. The finance industry was a familiar space for the Perth resident, long before Moneycatcha, but she “never really liked it per se”. “Counting money or reading financials didn’t excite me—I have a strange relationship with […]
Homeloans to fund and use Athena’s new home loan platform
Homeloans Ltd will provide debt funding to Athena Home Loans and has joined Macquarie and SquarePeg as a shareholder of the new home loan platform, which is preparing to launch later this year with technology to link mortgage borrowers directly with super funds and non-bank lenders. Athena, founded by two former National Australia Bank executives, is targeting $1 billion of lending in its first year, a drop in the ocean compared to the $1.7 trillion mortgage market. However, the strategic partnership announced by ASX-listed Homeloans on Monday morning shows major banks, which are grappling with a loss of customer trust due to the banking royal commission, are under growing pressure […]
HashChing settles over $1 Billion in Australian home loans in 3 years
When breakthrough home loan marketplace HashChing launched into the Australian home loans market in August 2015 – never did the founders believe the far-reaching impact their unique online business would have on the Australian mortgage market. Fast forward nearly three years and the results speak for themselves. Over one billion dollars worth of Australian home loans have been settled through the platform, $675 million worth of which were finalised in the last 12 months alone. HashChing has helped over 2,200 borrowers save more than $10 million in combined interest during the first year of their home loans. The platform has also collected more than 3,100 reviews on over 500 brokers […]
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 […]
