GetCapital is now Shift, signifying the fintech’s technology and product transformation. Shift sales director Kristian McCausland and head of strategic partnerships Marie Boyagi explain how the changes will benefit brokers and their clients.
Shift was established as GetCapital in 2014 to provide lending solutions for small businesses.
Fast-forward to October 2021 and the North Sydney-based fintech has undergone big changes – it’s no longer just a lender that offers business loans and asset finance to brokers and their SME clients. Using streaming data, Shift now provides businesses with finance on demand.
“The rebrand to Shift reflects how we’ve evolved from being solely a business lender to a provider of platforms to help businesses easily trade, pay and access funds,” says Shift sales director Kristian McCausland.
“Over time we’ve changed to support our partners and customers who need much more. This involved ongoing investment in technology and data, while keeping our broker partners and customers at the centre of everything we do.
“This transformation meant we’re now at an exciting point in our company’s journey, one that deserves a new brand and name, hence the change to ‘Shift’. McCausland says the name Shift is a more accurate representation of the difference the company makes for brokers and their customers.
“Shift talks to disruption and positive change, which is what we’re about as a company. In a nutshell, Shift is changing the way Australian businesses access finance with a platform that is built for brokers. It gives brokers the tools, data and intelligence to supercharge their customer value.”
“We’ve grown into a provider of credit platforms that help brokers service their clients, manage their own businesses and help other businesses of all sizes,” McCausland says.
“Now more than ever, brokers need flexibility rather than a cookie-cutter, traditional lending approach, and that’s our core focus.
“Whether it’s overdraft, asset finance, focusing on cash flowor other needs, we’re really trying to make the processes as frictionless as possible for brokers and their clients.”
McCausland says once brokers and their clients are part of the Shift network, they’ll have swift access to finance solutions they need, without having to repeatedly jump through the hoops of applications and turnaround times.
Head of strategic partnerships Marie Boyagi says the rebrand is a sign of Shift’s increased focus on providing credit platforms and insights that help brokers better service their clients and run their own businesses.
“Earlier this year we launched our broker platform – now called Shift Connect – which uses streaming data so brokers can help their clients access Shift financial solutions in just eight clicks,” says Boyagi.
“As Shift, we’re even further heightening our focus on making sure our platforms give more insights, flexibility and time back in the day to brokers so they can proactively engage with their clients to find the right financial solutions for each individual business.”
McCausland says Shift Connect aims to put brokers in control.
“As part of the Shift network, we want our brokers to have full oversight of the options available to their clients, enabling them to have more insightful, timely conversations without the paperwork.
“With Shift Connect, brokers can register their clients in just minutes, then get real-time status updates, full visibility of financial data – including cash flow, income and expenses – track commissions, and much more.”
When Shift asked its brokers what features of their financial solutions provider they valued most, McCausland says the three points that stood out were speed, consistency and flexibility.
“This is why we’re continuing to focus on our broker platform, Shift Connect, as well as making sure we don’t take a cookie-cutter approach to the solutions we help brokers offer clients.”
Boyagi adds, “Brokers clearly called out the amount of admin work they have to get through as a big challenge, so we’re looking to cut that out where we can by our use of data streaming technology to deliver better solutions to partners that help them better service their clients.”
McCausland says, “We’ve grown our tech team by 50% this year as we continue to invest in data streaming technology, and expect to grow it by 50% again next year.
“This is part of our continued focus on making sure we set our brokers up for success by combining insights-based technology with a strong, national broker team.
“We’re hard at work behind the scenes on a beta version of an insights component of our platform. We’re getting feedback from a range of brokers on it at the moment.” This will give brokers instant access to more insights about the financial health of their clients and the business they have with each broker, McCausland says.
“It will help brokers make quicker, more informed choices when finding financial solutions for them and even help them know when to check in with their clients. Expect more on this in the coming months.”
Along with the tech focus and an expanded BDM team, Boyagi says Shift aims to deliver on providing speed, consistency and flexibility.
“Brokers spend too much time on admin and red tape. If a financial solution provider is light touch for a broker, it’s doing its job properly – that’s a huge focus for us,” she says.
“We want to make sure our range of products does more than other standard loans when many businesses might need something different, especially after the last two years and businesses pivoting, consolidating for growth and mapping out their path to recovery
“That said, we’ve seen huge resilience from some sectors, so a strong part of our business is focused on helping brokers service companies that are maintaining a solid growth trajectory.”
McCausland says brokers have weathered a storm like never before.
“Brokers have thought on their feet, come to us with a view to help clients with products that suit their financial health and not just standard responses to transactions as they arise,” he says.
“The challenge for us really has been more of an opportunity. We’ve already had a strong tech focus, and by cranking it up a gear we’ve been able to bring a great broker platform to the market, as well as rolling out a beta of an Insights platform that will help brokers manage their – and their clients’ – business.”
In some states, transport, postal and warehousing have performed strongly, McCausland says, adding that “brokers have seen significant opportunities in asset finance and cash flow throughout these industries”.
Boyagi says as lockdowns end and the economy opens up, brokers will play a vital role in supporting their clients’ future plans.
“Now more than ever, brokers are critical to navigating the market and guiding clients to the right product at the right time to enable growth,” she says.
Diversification is an important factor for brokers, Boyagi says.
“We hear about diversification as being extremely important to the broker, but ultimately diversification is as much about meeting your clients’ needs as it is about income.
“Clients are looking for more than a single product discussion and are eager to understand all the avenues available to help them achieve their goals.”
Boyagi says there are more products than ever in the market, and if brokers don’t adapt they run a risk of being left behind by more agile brokers.
“At Shift we support brokers to understand our product range, when each product is suitable for each client and how best they can work with us.”
McCausland says Shift is focused on getting its Insights platform to brokers in the not-too-distant future.
“Over the next year we’ll maintain our focus on moving towards true fi nance on demand that makes it easier for brokers to match clients with the right solutions.
“Part of this is helping brokers access the data they need to have more valuable conversations with their clients, cut red tape and give them options they need to more efficiently and productively run their businesses.”
