Demand for digital home loans increases amid ‘new normal’

Since then, the fintech company claimed its platform has received an overwhelming response “from a fatigued market, where customers remain frustrated with sluggish loan approval times, complex processes and opaque pricing”.

In fact, Nano’s analysis revealed that 80 per cent of all applications they received have come from existing customers of traditional lenders, while the rest were received from customers of other non-bank lenders who are looking for more features and functionality.

“Last year during lockdown, we saw loan approval times blow out to over eight weeks as traditional lenders struggled to keep up with the volume of loan applications… so to have reached this exciting milestone so quickly is a validation that the vision with which we created Nano — to make home loans simple, fast, innovative and fair — is clearly resonating with Australian home owners,” according to CEO and co-founder Andrew Walker.

“This is especially true in a pandemic environment where the rapid migration of customers to technology-driven offerings has been expedited.”

According to Mr Walker, being able to complete a home loan application digitally on their own time with no paperwork required is a “massive plus” for customers, especially amid a new wave of localised lockdowns.

Apart from offering a faster and digital loan process, Nano has also helped their customers identify refinancing opportunities for saving money on their interest payments.

Since their launch, Nano said it has reduced their customers’ average monthly repayments by $263 per month — that is, an estimated savings of around $79,000 per customer over the life of their loan.

“Put differently, with the same repayment amount, they can cut the length of their loan by three years and four months,” Mr Walker said.

“Based on these figures, we’ve saved all Nano home owners $15 million in interest payments already, and we’ve just started.”

By flipping the system in favour of the borrower, Mr Walker said Nano ultimately aims to bring financial fairness back to the real estate industry.

“It’s a long journey ahead, but we believe Nano can play a part in moving the dial on Australia’s burgeoning household debt by helping borrowers reduce their interest outgoings,” the CEO added.

Looking ahead, Nano confirmed plans to launch a series of new products in the second half of 2021 in order to meet the “more complex needs of customers”.

Currently, the platform features a refinancing offer for owner-occupiers and investor loans ranging from variable interest rates of 1.99 to 2.59 per cent per annum.

By the fourth quarter of this year, they intend to expand their suite of offerings with home loans for those who are buying, instead of just refinancers.

“It has been a fantastic journey so far and we will continue to innovate and reshape the industry,” Mr Walker said.

“Competition and innovation ultimately benefit the customer, and that is what Nano is here to do.”