Australian fintech LoanOptions.ai has announced it will expand across the ditch to New Zealand as it looks to establish a global presence.
The disruptive platform’s entire offering will be available for New Zealand brokers by the end of the year, starting with a panel of up to 20 lenders.
LoanOptions.ai founder and CEO Julian Fayad (pictured above) said he was thrilled to expand across the Tasman and expected the panel to grow over time.
“New Zealand is no stranger to us. Many of our existing partnerships are trans-Tasman and we've been working to establish LoanOptions in New Zealand for some time now,” said Fayad, who was named a finalist in the Sydney Young Entrepreneur Awards for two years running.
“We have been proudly generating loan options that are tailored to each individual’s unique needs with complete transparency for over three years in Australia, and are very excited to offer the same exceptional service to our friends and neighbours in New Zealand.”
Launched in August 2020, LoanOptions.ai’s main draw is its loan comparison tool, which provides applicants with eligible quotes from more than 70 lenders using its credit matching engine and AI algorithms.
“With one simple application form, applicants can apply online in under eight minutes with no impact to their credit score,” Fayad said.
However, LoanOptions’ product suite also caters to brokers.
Using a technology called a loan widget, Loan Options’ loan comparison tool can be integrated into the website of existing brokerages. This helps them offer a diverse range of services, including business, personal, vehicle, equipment, working capital, asset finance, and more.
LoanOptions.ai offers two models for mortgage brokers:
Importantly, LoanOptions.ai does not do mortgage broking itself. Instead, it provides the technology and support that mortgage brokers need to generate leads and manage their businesses.
The company has chosen to stay out of the mortgage space because it does not want to compete with its broker partners. Faya said he believed that the company could better serve its customers by just focusing on asset finance.
Fayad said LoanOption.ai would still operate as both a SaaS offering and a revenue sharing model in New Zealand with the loan widget, white-label lead generation options for brokers, and B2C services all available.
While the news of international expansion is positive, the question is: Why New Zealand? And why now?
Fayad said despite its serious appetite for new technology, New Zealand remained a “very underserviced market in the brokerage space”.
“Coupled with the geographical proximity, cultural similarities, and similar time zones, this was a natural progression for the company as part of our plan to expand nationally and globally,” Fayad said.
Fayad said the company would operate in New Zealand with multiple office spaces on the North Island (Auckland) and South Island (Dunedin).
“We are expecting to grow quickly, with the New Zealand branch able to leverage the horsepower of headquarters in Australia – and will be pushing a strong recruitment drive for local talent in New Zealand,” he said.
“Eventually, we'd like to see a LoanOptions.ai branch in every state of Australia. We've got our sights set on Queensland and Western Australia next.”
Get the hottest and freshest mortgage news delivered right into your inbox. Subscribe now to our FREE daily newsletter.
