Leading Australian mortgage broker platform, HashChing has announced it has recently completed a successful capital raise. HashChing has over 60,000 customers who have utilised the platform to find better loans and make lending more efficient for mortgage brokers.
The raise (amount undisclosed) was led by Heworth Fund Management and Sapien Ventures.
HashChing CEO Arun Maharaj said he will use the funding to bring about a change in strategic direction, retaining its free-to-use model for consumers but modifying its offering to mortgage brokers:
“Mortgage brokers are a vital part of a healthy lending environment, encouraging competition and an experienced advocate on behalf of the borrower. But the industry is set up in a way that is very favourable to larger institutions.”
Larger institutions such as banks currently enjoy a competitive advantage over their smaller competition thanks to their greater efficiency in finding and tracking business opportunities. This is due to a widening technology gap, with smaller brokers stuck using outdated legacy systems, as the cost of onboarding or developing a modern one are often prohibitive.
What does this raise mean for HashChing?
HashChing CEO Arun Maharaj said, “We’re changing the way HashChing works and its business model in recognition of these fundamental industry forces. We’re opening up access to our platform for all mortgage brokers to use as either a pipeline management / productivity improvement tool, customer acquisition source or both for a single low monthly fee.
Our mission is to help mortgage brokers deliver great customer experiences. By helping mortgage brokers become more efficient by managing customer data better, we’ll help ensure a diverse and competitive lending landscape in Australia.”
Mr Maharaj said that with open banking set to come into effect this year, there is an unprecedented opportunity to redefine how financial services are consumed:
“It’s an exciting time for fintech in Australia. Open Banking will allow customers to switch lenders far more easily than ever before. Finance, and in particular banking, has been notorious for relying on customer inertia to squeeze out value – not passing on the full interest rate cuts is just one good example of this practice. We know that open banking has created a positive outlook for both consumers and brokers, and we look forward to utilising our latest funding to be part of this positive change within the fintech space.”
The HashChing platform is now available for an affordable $99 per month to mortgage brokers who can sign up to the service today. In addition, HashChing has expanded its offerings to include SMB lending on top of mortgage lending, diversifying the business and allowing mortgage brokers from other sectors to utilise the service to increase their efficiency.
“When doing our market research ahead of the new phase of HashChing’s development, one common issue was the technology & efficiency gap. Many were utilising pre-mobile systems that cannot track interactions on mobile platforms, leading to brokers often using multiple systems to procure and manage information on clients. This negatively impacts efficiency and increases time and costs, all of which tilt the playing field towards larger institutions with modern resourcing. With today’s funding round under our belt, we’re going to change that and help level the playing field for brokers.”
Finally, HashChing will not change its core offering to consumers who are looking to use the platform to find the right loan for them:
“We’re expanding our offering and evolving with the needs of our mortgage brokers. But one thing we won’t lose sight of is the core of HashChing’s success so far: providing a free, transparent, on-demand service for borrowers to find competitively priced loans. We’ll maintain that core part of HashChing’s mission as we move on to greater things,” concluded Maharaj.
