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A regional non-bank lender has doubled the size of its business since 1 July, after it acquired the Australian operations of a global competitor.
The WA-based Fair Go Finance acquired CapFin Money (previously Spot Loans) after its owning company, Pepkor Asia Pacific, took the decision to put non-core assets up for sale as part of a “balance sheet strengthening process”.
Seizing the opportunity, Fair Go Finance took the chance to scale its Australian operations and “access a wealth of data”. The acquisition creates one of the largest non-bank personal loan lenders in the Australian small loan market and employs 50 people.
According to Fair Go’s official announcement, the resulting scale supports “significant advantages as Artificial Intelligence becomes a reality in the risk management framework of modern lenders.”
Further, the statement reads, “With both businesses having customer bases that span a decade, the additional data available to Fair Go Finance will make the use of its technology more valuable and help it continue to comply with ASICs responsible lending obligations, which many lenders struggle with.”
“Capfin, or Spot Loans as it was known, is a well-run business with a similar compliance culture, which supports the customer retention as we integrate and grow,” said Fair Go Finance CEO Paul Walshe.
“With a high degree of similarity between our two operating models, this acquisition will support the merged entity to pre-emptively adapt to possible regulatory changes and market developments that will materialise with the evolution of open banking, CCR and the continued digital uptake in Australia,” he added.
“We have already gained significant market share from larger players over the last 12 months and the combined strength from this acquisition and our technology will continue to drive this migration and higher growth rates,” Walshe continued.
MyBucks Group CEO Tim Nuy, added, “It is great to see the Australian business leveraging the capabilities of the group and we expect the Australian and Asian markets to be key in the future of MyBucks.”
“We will continue to look for growth opportunities within these key markets,” he continued.
Established in 2008, Fair Go became part of the Frankfurt-listed fintech MyBucks Group, in 2017.
