Pepper Money, winner of the Non-Bank of the Year at the Australian Mortgage Awards 2022, has also been recognised as one of Australia and New Zealand’s most innovative companies.
After taking out the non-bank award at the AMAs on Friday night, Pepper Money has placed eighth on the super and finance sectors list of the prestigious Australian Financial Review BOSS Most Innovative Companies awards. There were more than 700 nominated organisations across Australia and New Zealand this year.
The assessment is based on Inventium's Innovation Framework which comprises the nine elements science has shown to drive innovation. The assessment also judges the organisation's top innovation from the previous two years where the judges look at how valuable the problem is that the innovation is solving, the quality and uniqueness of the solution and the level of impact that the innovation has had.
“We are honoured and delighted to be recognised for two-plus decades of data and market-leading tech to support brokers and our customers,” said Pepper Money CEO Mario Rehayem (pictured above).
“Although we’ve grown and evolved our product offering over the last 22 years, Pepper Money’s underlying mission remains the same – to help people succeed by challenging the way loans are designed, distributed and offered.”
Pepper Money was recognised for its market first and purpose-built solution Pepper Resolve – an automated home loan offer tool that integrates into a mortgage broker’s customer management database to offer an alternative solution within seconds.
Previously, the customer’s application would have been declined by their first-choice lender, withdrawn or stuck due to lender conditions.
“Six in 10 Australians with non-conforming loan characteristics who are eligible for a home loan are turned away by traditional lenders including customers that apply directly with a bank,” he said. “Many Australian borrowers are not familiar with alternative solutions that non-bank lenders like Pepper Money can offer.”
Rehayem said if a broker wanted to find an alternative for a declined customer, they needed to research and submit another application to another lender.
“This can take hours with no guarantee of a positive outcome and the customer may get another enquiry on their credit record. Often, the customer is left high and dry and when brokers cannot find a solution, so loses the goodwill of their customer,” he said.
“Pepper Resolve takes the legwork away from the broker by giving them an instant alternative they can present to their customer to turn a negative conversation into a positive one, thereby strengthening the broker proposition.”
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Rehayem said Pepper Money’s ability to be nimble and tailor financial options for specific borrower requirements quickly through offerings such as Pepper Resolve gives customers of all walks of life an opportunity to enter the housing market or fund their next big purchase such as a car or renovation.
“Pepper Resolve is the most efficient way in the market for brokers to assist in creating financial inclusion by creating options for customers who have been declined by their first-choice lender,” he said. “The award-winning technology strengthens the broker proposition by maximising the probability to something ‘a bank cannot offer because they are a lender with a mono line product offering.”
Rehayem said innovation was paramount to keep pace with its customers’ needs today and tomorrow.
“It's a critical time right now for people to have peace of mind, fast turnaround on decisions and flexible loan options. From a digital and technology perspective, that means speed to decision, access to self-service options, transparency right across the digital loan journey and more automation are all crucial right now to help our customers succeed,” he said.
“I want to congratulate and thank everyone including the Pepper Money team, its valued partners, brokers and shareholders for playing a part to help achieve this recognition as leaders of innovation. We look forward to championing the spirit of innovation and non-bank lending by continuing to seek out new ways to add value for our brokers and customers.”
