The 15 Australian Fintech Companies to Watch in 2021

This article was originally posted by The Australian Business Journal on June 17, 2021.

It’s no secret that technology is moving at a faster rate than ever. The demand for existing and emerging companies to innovate and create the products and solutions for the future is at an all time high. Booming in recent years, the financial technology, or fintech industry, has seen companies seek to solve a plethora of problems that we face in todays society – in attempts to offer unique financial solutions that are more efficient and effective than ever before. With so many companies in the fintech space, we’ve put together a list of exciting companies to keep an eye on in coming years. Each doing amazing things in their own right, here we present the 15 Australian Fintech companies to watch in 2021.

Joust

The rise of online marketplaces has improved a variety of industries when it comes to saving consumers time and money, however the mortgage industry is still behind when it comes to innovation.

Financial products – and home loans in particular – are complex and have traditionally been confusing for consumers to compare and understand. Joust is innovating in this regard and changing the way consumers connect with lenders. Thanks to their consumer-first approach, Joust is making it easier for consumers to identify the best loan products for their needs. 

Joust simplifies the maze of complexity surrounding home loans, and helps consumers successfully connect with lenders and brokers by matching their loan requirements in a two-sided marketplace. It was founded by ex-bankers, who understood the issues in the industry and wanted to make it easier for homeowners and buyers to find the best home loans. 

Joust has processed over $5 billion worth of loan opportunities so far through their home loan marketplace and they have reduced the average customer’s interest rate by 0.74%. This means they have helped their refinance customers save an average of $3,348 per year or $279 per month. 

Joust is simple to use. Consumers set up a loan profile so they can be provided the most suitable options. Once they have compared the options that best suit their needs, the consumer can then select the right lender for them. The service provides transparency and places all the control in the hands of consumers. 

Whether you are a refinancer, new home buyer or investor, it is likely you will benefit greatly from Joust’s unique matching. That’s exactly why their product is so effective and valuable. 

MyPayNow

MyPayNow is a revolutionary FinTech app breaking the mould of the archaic traditional pay cycle. Using proprietary designed and built A.I Technology, MyPayNow is putting the power of pay day in the hands of the consumer by allowing them to access their wage early. 

MyPayNow is improving the financial wellness for its consumers by alleviating the stress that comes with those unexpected expenses that life throws in the way by allowing consumers to access up to a quarter of their wage (with a limit of $1250) prior to their pay day, often, when it is needed most.

The MyPayNow app delivers a seamless user experience with a turnaround time within 3 minutes between signing up and receiving the advance in your bank account – provided you meet their eligibility criteria. In the last 12 months, MyPayNow has acquired over 185,000 accounts and advanced more than 1.2million wages for working Australians, totalling over $220million, definitely one to keep an eye out for!

Wefund

Revolutionizing the FinTech industry, Wefund provides a new way for companies to secure finances for all their development projects. They combine technology with human experience to provide something entirely new. Their goal is simple: to deliver fast, non-bank funding and become the perfect finance partner. 

Gain access to  more than 75 of the best non-bank lenders in Australia so you can secure flexible and fair finance for your development project. Wefund takes the complexity out of acquiring commercial real estate finance, which is why they’ve been so welcome on the market. 

Wefund provides a powerful online platform and a team of finance experts whose job is to guide and help you acquire the right funding for your development as easily and quickly as possible. They will take care of the entire process, meaning they will structure your loan application, find the right lender for your needs, negotiate the best terms, and manage the settlement on your behalf. 

With Wefund, you’ll have access to the top finance team in the country who strive to understand your project, offering debt structuring solutions and financial modeling so you understand the total cost of finance, as well as your capital contribution and return on equity. They have strong relationships that puts you infront of the best lenders in the industry aiming to present the best offers available. Another great thing about Wefund is their all-in-one platform makes it easy to manage your finances and is 3 times faster than traditional financing. 

Drive IQ Technology

Integrated with the best industry partners, Drive IQ Technology provides access to more than 50 lenders at the touch of a button. It doesn’t matter where you are or what time it is, any customer will be able to find a lender quickly and easily. 

The team behind Drive IQ Technology have created an automated, end-to-end finance application journey for it’s users – one of the first of its kind. Everything from initial quoting and data capture, ID verification, servicing, and approval, all the way to settlement, is automated for your comfort and satisfaction.

With the IQ platform, brokers will be able to build a single point of truth for all their asset finance and personal loan transactions. The platform is incredibly user-friendly and it was designed to make your life a lot easier. Additionally, the platform manages policy for 60 asset finance and personal loan lenders and it leverages matching algorithms to serve up the best lenders for a given application. 

Currently, 16 lenders can be submitted directly through the platform. 7 of these lenders are API and 9 of them are offline. Many third-party API services are also available, including Lodge, Equifax, Glass Guide, and Bankstatemens.com. The Drive IQ Technology workflow was built for asset finance brokers and it provides a ton of value to them, however it is also used by dealerships due to its impressive capabilities. 

Whether you’re a broker, lender or dealership, Drive IQ’s simple, automated end-to-end finance application journey is the only finance technology you need.

Unhedged

Algorithms have come to rule the world, that much is undeniable. Unhedged proposes they should rule your portfolio as well! That’s why they have created an incredibly simple app that allows investors to assign their money to advanced AI trading algorithms and access returns that were only accessible to the super-rich 1%. 

Unhedged tries to beat expensive asset managers with the use of algorithms. They are simplifying investment by making it transparent and inexpensive. They provide users with access to investment strategies that were reserved only for the rich and famous, all through an app that’s easy to use. 

They put their money where their mouth is, which is why most of the fees at Unhedged only get paid when they outperform the benchmark. This amazing Australian fintech company was introduced by Peter Bakker, a seasoned entrepreneur with a mission to upset the status quo that exists in the rono advice and asset management world. 

The philosophy of Unhedged is based on this: asset managers align themselves to the performance of their clients. That means they have a “no gain, no pain” mentality and they are invested, which is what allows them to provide so much value to their clients. 

Spark Finance

Spark Finance is an Australian Fintech company with the noble goal of democratizing education for international students. Their goal is to remove finance as a barrier for brilliant students who want to enter Australia’s leading universities and build their education. So many students around the world don’t have the funds to pursue higher education in Australia, but Spark is turning things around.

They are able to achieve their goal by providing tuition assistance to international students and enabling Australian universities to access the world’s best talent and diversity in their international student cohorts. It’s a mutually beneficial situation that makes an important impact. 

However, they are not only focused on providing opportunities for international students, but also for Australians and New Zealanders who want to study overseas. Spark Finance is the only Australian company that provides tuition assistance to international students in the country and they are very proud of that. 

To provide this financial assistance, Spark Finance assesses the future employment prospects of international students. This enables them to understand students and provide the financial assistance they need. They are successfully eliminating the financial barrier to education and they are making a huge change in the lives of many who want to study in Australia but can’t afford it. 

Gini

Passionate about putting advanced technology into the hands of as many people as possible, Gini is an award-winning FinTech company that offers products to help customers understand their data and take advantage of it. Their flagship product is GiniPredict, which is built to sit on top of existing tools such as Xero. 

Accessing the potential of machine learning to do predictive modeling was not something most companies could easily do because they were missing the resources and technical capabilities to do so. In other words, it was impossible for small businesses all over the world to leverage this kind of technology. Until now!

GiniPredict was built to provide businesses with a better understanding of their analytics. This allows them to produce accurate forecasts, model scenarios, and assess the impact of variables to identify the most productive outcomes. The technology Gini has to offer allows business owners to automate their data flow, keep everyone informed, and make better decisions. 

Gini allows their customers to use the power of machine learning easily and without having to break the bank. GiniPredict will work with familiar tools and workflows, and more integrations will be available soon. When you have the information you need to make the best possible decisions for your business, it will scale faster and be more productive than ever. 

Parakeet

In a world where business is suffering from a breakdown in the social contract that leads to late payments that become self-fulfilling within the market, Parakeet brings forward a novel and defensible approach that aims to reduce late payments. They believe that business-to-business debt and late payments are caused by a breakdown in relationships. 

As a solution to this issue, they provide an API-driven platform that automates, brokers, and incentivizes on-time and early payments through a proprietary UX. Parakeet has a very clear purpose and that’s to remove the cognitive and logistical barriers that make on-time payments or early payments a lot more complicated than they have to be. 

They are on a mission to simplify these complexities so their clients can have a healthy balance sheet performance. As such, Parakeet provides a platform where businesses can take flight and unlock the power of the technology they have to offer. 

They have perfected their approach and refined their vision through the years. What Parakeet provides is unique and it focuses on proprietary user experience, automation, and incentives. Their technology, when launched alongside partners, brings forward a culture of integrity that’s essential to a business community that’s sustainable and high-performance. 

Sipora

In Australia, Sipora is the leading round-up as a service platform and it has a ton of value to offer. Sipora’s latest service allows organisations to build, launch, and maintain their own round-up product at a fraction of the time and cost compared to starting from scratch. Sipora’s platform works perfectly with financial services, superannuation funds, lenders, and charitable organisations, among others, that want to launch round-up applications and products. 

Sipora is the first platform of its kind in the country, so it’s greatly innovating an important sector of the market. Using Sipora’s platform, superannuation funds can increase funds under management, lenders can help customers pay down debt and this new form of technology is focused on helping charities increase donations to make a greater impact on the world and support the causes they champion, which is why Sipora’s platform is so powerful for all organisations.

Round-up products in Australia are typically locked into one system, but Sipora gives brands the power to launch their own round-up product. Sipora is the only brand that provides a platform for partners and they are always working on new products to introduce to the market.

Finspo

Founded by ex-bankers in 2019, Finspo is a digital broker making home loans simpler for Australians. They are a team of industry experts, mortgage brokers, software developers, and designers, on a mission to help you get a great home loan, and pay it off faster. 

Finspo has access to thousands of loans from over 30 different lenders, and their home loan experts will help find the right one for you. They will get familiar with your situation, explain your options, and support you every step of the way. 

The Finspo app can help you pay off your home loan faster by delivering you personalised insights and alerts based on your connected accounts.

It will let you know when certain fees or interest rates have changed, and when you could pay something down, or top something up to avoid fees or interest. The Finspo app will help you stay on top of things so you can save smarter and get rid of your home loan sooner.

Sherlok

Fintech startup Sherlok is the first automated repricing and refinancing tool in Australia. They provide mortgage brokers with a wide range of services that will allow them to retain clients, reprice existing loans automatically, generate refinance  leads, protect their trail book income, and more. Their AI engine can even predict when a client is likely to leave the broker, then takes action to keep them. 

Sherlok was founded by Adam Grocke after spending 12 years as a mortgage broker. He won many awards during that time, including Broker of the Year and Top 30 Brokers Under 30 in Australia. However, it seemed unfair to him that banks offer better interest rates to new mortgage owners, while they charge a loyalty tax to existing customers. 

Thus, Sherlok was born. This AI engine is the perfect solution and it allows mortgage brokers to retain clients for longer, generate valuable refinancing leads, and protect their trail book income. As such, it provides useful and powerful features that benefit both brokers and clients. 

This innovative tool has proven to be very valuable, but it won’t stop there. The talented team behind Sherlok is currently working on a single-click refinancing solution that will allow brokers to automatically process and approve loans in a matter of minutes, reducing the process from 45 days to just 1 day. Their value proposition is truly unique and it’s exciting to see what the future holds. 

Moneycatcha

Experts at providing intelligent risk management solutions, Moneycatcha’s flagship Regtech platform, Regchain, can activate new value and enable increased growth for their clients. The Regchain solution allows organizations to perform real-time risk based pricing and ongoing reviews of home loan portfolios or individual loans, all while enabling compliance with legislation such as DDO (Design & Distribution Obligations) and CDR (Consumer Data Right). The Moneycatcha system also enables FI’s to actively engage with their clients earlier, manage their risk portfolio, and even consider applying risk-based pricing methods at the time of loan origination through multiple channels. 

Because Regchain is configurable to each organisations Product, Pricing and Credit Confidence Rules, the platform enables real time alerts and offers when risk variances are detected within  the FI’s risk margins. Ongoing reporting and analysis is also provided by the additional Regchain Services so organisations can report from the source of truth and identify and report on any variances to assist with compliance management. 

The powerful and innovative technology behind Moneycatcha has won the company several awards, such as Compliance Innovator of the Year by Fintech Business and Startup Business of the Year by Business News in 2018, just to name a few. They provide patent-protected solutions that offer incredible potential not only for banks, but for many other sectors, including retail, logistics, government, and more.

LENSELL GROUP

LENSELL is an amazing Fintech business that helps people make better decisions with the help of data-driven insight. It was founded by Dr Laura Rusu, a woman with an extensive background in computer science and economics who decided to use her experience in the corporate world and academia as a software engineer, researcher, and lecturer to create an effective platform. 

On the Lensell platform, people can access transparent and affordable financial and non-financial corporate performance data and insight. The platform provides several applications: one for companies to report financial results in a standard digital format, one for investors to build diversified portfolios, and one that enables people to learn more about polluting facilities in Australia. Lensell also provides LEI registration services so companies can get their unique global identifiers and comply with ASIC regulations.

Overall, the platform and its many applications are all unique and they help people solve complex problems in a novel and effective way. Perhaps the most outstanding application is the Portfolio Planning and Diversification Tool, Diversiview.

Diversiview® is the first tool that allows retail investors to employ Markowitz’s Modern Portfolio Theory to the point. Investors can visualise the deep, granular diversification at security level, and see how that impacts on the expected return and risk (variance of returns) for the portfolio. They can test various scenarios to find the combinations of securities that suit their risk and return expectations, or they can use the Balancer – a unique feature that uses advanced optimisation techniques to help investors find the allocations that may achieve a target for their portfolio – that is, maximum return, minimum risk, or the maximum possible return at the minimum possible risk.

mSmart

Standing at the forefront of next-generation digital advice products, mSmart provides easily accessible pre-built structured investment portfolios of direct securities or managed funds. This tool successfully links investments to a powerful forecasting algorithm, that provides long-term projections for complex outcomes such as superannuation.

Thanks to this, they are able to offer more choices, better investment products, charge lower fees, use more modern investment technology, and provide better reporting than any traditional or digital alternatives in existence. mSmart offers full transactional capabilities with brokers and for managed funds as well, providing everything their clients need. 

The mSmart platform integrates with the most modern and highly developed administration and accounting software, including BGL. This allows mSmart to provide an entire package for seamless analytical, transactions, investment, and tax and accounting reporting. These valuable tools are all available at an affordable cost and they are incredibly effective. 

This is the first company that uses the investment capabilities of Robo-advisors to forecast complex outcomes and provide an advantage. mSmart offers unique and necessary features to their clients, and provide easily visible and accessible investments to the retail public, brokers and advisors.

Edge Alerter

Edge Alerter is a system created by Joonas Karppinen, a professional derivatives trader and former senior trader at Bet365. This valuable and effective tool allows members to make a significant side income by following an algorithmic betting system that takes advantage of sport and racing promotions. 

Users of Edge Alerter don’t only get access to this effective system, they also get access to proprietary betting education and a wide array of tools that will help them become successful bettors. The educational platform is based on insights from the professional trading world and the bookmaking industry, which gives users a great advantage. 

Only 0.5% of bettors are long-term profitable because it’s not easy to beat the bookmakers. However, Edge Alerter members have profited tremendously, with 95% profitable weeks and 31% profit of turnover, which is the best on the Australian market. Another great thing about this system is that it’s 100% independent, so there’s no conflict of interest between affiliates and bettors. 

Edge Alerter values education, which is why they provide educational resources that go beyond the basics and will teach you all about the mathematics of betting, trading Betfair, identifying edge, and so much more. This is the best performing betting system in Australia and it has the track record to prove it.