The Australian fintech startups disrupting home loans
A new type of fintech company is helping home buyer owners save on their home loans, using technology to drive competition and take business from the big banks. The differences between mortgage deals offered by the big four banks are hard to spot and even harder to work out when looking for a home loan deal, according to an investigation by the consumer watchdog, the ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission). The watchdog says there are signs of “less-than-vigorous” price competition in Australia’s $1.75 trillion mortgage lending industry. However, a group of startups are trying to change that. A number of property-related fintechs have lodged entries to this year’s Finnie […]
Pressing for progress for women in tech
In early November, the World Economic Forum announced a statistic that was hard to stomach: the gender gap widened for the first time in the last decade. A year ago the association claimed it would take 170 years to reach full gender parity, but now we’re up to 217 years. While there are many prominent areas of gender inequality in Australia’s workforce, one specific area hit close to home for us. Women occupy only one quarter of the Australian STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) workforce. In response to this statistic, this year we set out to learn more about what some of the leaders, both men and women, in the […]
Mortgage fintech looks to blockchain for home loans
The CEO and founder of an online mortgage platform has revealed that the fintech is looking into how it can utilise blockchain to make the home loan contract process more efficient. Speaking at the Informa Credit Law Conference, Mandeep Sodhi, the CEO of HashChing, revealed that the platform was looking into the distributed ledger technology for mortgages. When asked by The Adviser what HashChing was using blockchain for, Mr Sodhi said: “We have been exploring blockchain in the home loan contract, smart contract space and securitisation as well. “It’s more in the future roadmap but mostly around how quickly can we exchange a contract – through smart contracts. But also, […]
Australia’s fintech festival to have world-first gender equality commitment
Australia’s inaugural fintech festival will have what is believed to be a world-first gender equality target, as part of an ongoing campaign to drive increased levels of female participation in Australia’s most important startup sector. FinTech Australia today announced that the Intersekt fintech festival would be seeking to have an equal number of female and male speakers. Intersekt is being held in Melbourne, Australia from 27 October to 3 November. It is set to be the most influential and exciting event of its type in Asia. It includes a two-day Collab/Collide Summit, a three-day hackathon, two community days and a one-day blockchain event. The State Government of Victoria is Intersekt’s […]
IDC names top 10 fastest growing fintech companies in A/NZ
IDC Financial Insights has unveiled a list of 10 fast-growing fintechs in Australia and New Zealand (A/NZ) as part of the broader FinTech 101 list for Asia/Pacific. “IDC’s FinTech Fast 101” refers to the fast-growing fintech players in Asia/Pacific based on extensive on-ground analysis of the dominant fintech players within the region. 10 Fastest Growing FinTechs in Australia and New Zealand Afterpay Touch Group Airwallex CoinJar Data Republic Harmoney HashChing identitii Prospa SocietyOne Xero Note: List is arranged alphabetically, Source IDC, 2017 IDC’s fintech list makes a reference to the Financial Insights’ Triple U framework — ubiquity, utility, and usability. This is a framework that evaluates fintech data across key metrics such as addressable […]
Australian Fintech finalists at the Optus My Business Awards
Congratulations to all the Australian Fintech companies and leaders who have been nominated as finalists in this year’s Optus My Business Awards: Business Leader of the Year Andrew Murray, Curve Securities Young Business Leader of the Year Larry Diamond, zipMoney Mandeep Sodhi, HashChing Finance Business of the Year zipMoney Fintech Business of the Year Curve Securities ezyCollect Maestrano MAUS Business Systems MoneyMe Financial Group NowInfinity Practice Ignition SelfWealth Sniip zipMoney Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Business of the Year Maestrano Innovator of the Year Practice Ignition Pocketbook
Broker channel needs to be ‘undercut’, says fintech boss
The founder of an online mortgage marketplace says there is too much “fat” in the home loan value chain and believes there is space for a non-advice model in mortgage distribution. Joust managing director Mark Bevan, who worked at CBA and Westpac before launching the online mortgage bidding platform in 2015, said that Joust is focused on lowering the cost of origination for lenders and borrowers. Joust targets Australian borrowers with good credit scores and simple needs. While he understands that customers with more complex needs will require the services of mortgage brokers, Mr Bevan believes that his model offers a cheaper alternative to traditional third-party distribution. “The mortgage broker […]
Fintech launches broker version of ‘Fitbit’
HashChing has introduced a Fitbit-like service which allows brokers to “dig deeper” into analytics, track performance and hold themselves “accountable to customers”. The upgrade is centred on a new performance analytics function that measures each broker’s personal metrics, including the number of reviews, the average response time and success rate. By allowing brokers to track their performance indicators and understand how those indicators impact overall ratings, HashChing hopes that the dashboard will act as a “powerful motivator” for brokers to improve service. Atul Narang, chief information officer of the fintech, said that the update was made in response to industry discussions around driving positive consumer outcomes in the mortgage industry. […]
