HashChing completes capital raise, revamps offering

HashChing has successfully completed a capital raise led by Heworth Fund Management and Sapien Ventures.

According to HashChing CEO Arun Maharaj, funds from the raise, which was launched in December, would be used to “bring about a change in strategic direction”, which involves the modification of its offering to mortgage brokers while retaining its free-to-use model for consumers.

Mr Maharaj said the group’s decision would help HashChing secure a more competitive position in the marketplace, with the CEO lamenting the lack of competition in the sector.   

“Mortgage brokers are a vital part of a healthy lending environment, encouraging competition and an experienced advocate on behalf of the borrower [but] the industry is set up in a way that is very favourable to larger institutions,” he said.

 “We’re changing the way HashChing works and its business model in recognition of these fundamental industry forces.”

The HashChing CEO said the fintech’s revamped business model would be more lucrative to brokers, with new features included in its $99 per month subscription service.

“We’re opening up access to our platform for all mortgage brokers to use as either a pipeline management/productivity improvement tool, customer acquisition source or both for a single low monthly fee. 

 “Our mission is to help mortgage brokers deliver great customer experiences. By helping mortgage brokers become more efficient by managing customer data better, we’ll help ensure a diverse and competitive lending landscape in Australia.”

Mr Maharaj said that while conducting market research ahead of HashChing’s strategic shift, the group identified a common issue associated with a “technology and efficiency gap”.

“Many were utilising pre-mobile systems that cannot track interactions on mobile platforms, leading to brokers often using multiple systems to procure and manage information on clients,” he said.

“This negatively impacts efficiency and increases time and costs, all of which tilt the playing field towards larger institutions with modern resourcing.

“With today’s funding round under our belt, we’re going to change that and help level the playing field for brokers.”

The chief executive also noted the timeliness of HashChing’s new strategy ahead of the launch of open banking.

“It’s an exciting time for fintech in Australia. Open Banking will allow customers to switch lenders far more easily than ever before,” he added.

“Finance, and in particular banking, has been notorious for relying on customer inertia to squeeze out value — not passing on the full interest rate cuts is just one good example of this practice.

“We know that open banking has created a positive outlook for both consumers and brokers, and we look forward to utilising our latest funding to be part of this positive change within the fintech space.” 

In addition to HashChing’s new broker services, the mortgage marketplace has expanded its product offering with the inclusion of SME finance.  

 HashChing stressed that it would not change its core offering to consumers looking to use its online platform to search for a loan.

 “We’re expanding our offering and evolving with the needs of our mortgage brokers [but] one thing we won’t lose sight of is the core of HashChing’s success so far: providing a free, transparent, on-demand service for borrowers to find competitively priced loans,” Mr  Maharaj stated.

“We’ll maintain that core part of HashChing’s mission as we move on to greater things.”

HashChing’s new strategic direction follows an overhaul of the group’s leadership team in 2019.

In June last year, Mortgage Business’ sister publication, The Adviser, broke the news that the founder and the executive team of HashChing had all left the company, with a new interim CEO, Arun Maharaj, taking the helm.

The founder and CEO of HashChing, Mandeep Sodhi, along with chief operating officer Siobhan Hayden and chief technology officer Vajira Amarasekera – all left the company at the end of May 2019, as did several board members of the fintech.

[Related: Lender halts trading ahead of significant capital raising]