From the decade we can see the sudden growth in FinTech industry space. While this growth has seen the emergence of FinTechs that are seeking to directly compete with incumbent players, there is an increasing number of FinTechs looking to partner with or sell their services to FIs. But still now for home loans, it takes an average of 40-60 days from an initial inquiry to settle. Comparison sites are still the first step of comparing home loan interest rates but borrowers are shown sponsored rates by lenders with a link back to lender website. Borrowers are left to deal with the lender directly who provide no choice to consumers.
The whole process of getting a home loan is not streamlined and the borrower has to deal with multiple parties to get a home loan, such as the Insurance Company to get mandatory Home insurance, solicitor or conveyancer to get a contract reviewed. HashChing is streamlining the complete process including verification of identity with one touchpoint only.
Simplifying the Way for Home Loans through Innovative Solutions
HashChing helps the individual to search for a home loan deal just like a shop for anything else online. It is the ‘Uber’ of home loans connecting borrowers to a local mortgage broker in their area who have access to pre-negotiated home loan deals that are not advertised on any comparison site or lenders’ own website. The verified mortgage brokers are rated and reviewed by the borrower every time and brokers have to maintain a minimum of 4-star rating out of 5, to remain active on HashChing platform. Mortgage brokers have provided the access of HashChing CRM where they can manage leads provided by HashChing by collecting all the required documents for a home loan perform virtual verification of identity with facial recognition, and online conveyancing, all with a click of a button from the dashboard.
HashChing is the first to launch home loan marketplace connecting borrowers to an experienced mortgage broker in their local area who have access to deals from multiple lenders. It provides all the necessary tools including appointment reminders thereby improving broker’s productivity so that mortgage brokers can focus on having a meaningful conversation with consumers and provide a tailored solution to borrowers.
HashChing has also introduced a Fitbit-like service which allows brokers to “dig deeper” into analytics, track performance and hold themselves “accountable to customers”. By allowing brokers to track their performance indicators and understand how those indicators impact overall ratings.
Architects behind HashChing
Mandeep Sodhi is a Founder and CEO of HashChing. Prior to launching HashChing, he worked in the financial services sector for over a decade and added an Executive MBA with Distinction average from Sydney Business School in 2014 to his academic profile. He worked across different business units in banking as a business consultant with his last role at Westpac Group focusing on strategic initiatives in the Digital space for retail banking products. He also had the honor of making to The Top 100 Coolest People in Australian Tech by Business Insider in 2016.
Mandeep’s financial services background and experience across different business units in Banking make him understand the challenges major banks have in implementing innovative solutions and still be competitive in this highly regulated environment. It is imperative to have a financial services background to understand regulatory and business challenges FinTech businesses face today. For technological strength, Mandeep convinced his friend Atul Narang to join him as a co-founder in the idea stage who last year won FinTech CIO/CTO of the Year award. While growing the business, he realized early on that they need to attract right capital, advisors, and talent to be able to scale their business. He reached out to the right contacts in the industry and convinced them to invest into or join HashChing.
Successfully Dealing with Capital Requirements and Increasingly Complex Regulations
In terms of capital requirements for lending, HashChing is not lending currently and taps into a network of mortgage brokers who secure lending for borrowers from their panel of lenders. For capital raising, HashChing has raised $2.8m so far and currently in the process of raising more capital to expand the team and scale the business further.
In order to meet strict regulations, HashChing has on-boarded Claire Wivell Plater to the Advisory Board. Claire is a long standing member of the Business Advisory Committee to ASIC’s Licensing Division, and a member of the Federal Treasurer’s FinTech Advisory Group. She is an active supporter of FinTech Australia and was instrumental in working with the industry and ASIC to co-develop the regulatory sandbox for innovative businesses. Claire has helped HashChing navigate through any compliance and regulatory challenges.
Strategies for Success
HashChing is at the forefront of driving innovation in mortgages. HashChing is looking to streamline the whole home buying experience and provide all the necessary information to borrowers and help borrowers make an informed financial decision with full confidence. Partnership with other fast growing FinTech startups, with a similar target audience, is one of the key strategies HashChing is following to quickly get scale and gain market share.
Also, HashChing has been exploring Blockchain for smart contracts, once Lenders are comfortable to accept it. Australian banks are great at adopting latest technology and HashChing wants to make sure that the technology is available to Brokers, once Lenders adopt this technology from their online channel.
Future Solutions
HashChing endeavors to be a marketplace for all of consumer financial needs with targeted offers without having to submit details again. HashChing is also looking to make mortgage a completely paperless transaction end to end. HashChing is also working on budgeting tools to help families make informed financial decisions and receive targeted offers accordingly.
