Nano secures patent for its innovative digital lending technology

Nano has cemented its position as the technology leader in Australia’s rapidly accelerating digital home loan market, after being awarded an innovation patent for its proprietary loan application and decision-making
technology.

The Innovation Patent for the ‘Automated Real-Time Digital Mortgage Application and Decisioning Engine’ was awarded on 15 September 2021 and will be published in the next Official Journal of Patents.

The grant by the Australian Patents Office helps confirm the uniqueness of Nano’s platform and recognises the innovative nature of its data-driven technology.

“This Innovation Patent recognises Nano as unique and innovative and sets us apart from the rest of the industry. Many are claiming to be ‘digital’ - but a website application sitting on top of yesterday’s broken processes is not the future” said Co-founder and CEO of Nano, Andrew Walker.

“Our patented technology platform and proprietary algorithms replace weeks of manual effort, rework and frustration with a fast, seamless, paper-free process.

“Having tens of thousands of hours of research and development recognised in this way is a great moment for the team and reinforces our position as the innovator in this space” he added.

Refinancing boom

Nano's Innovation Patent for its technology comes as new figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show refinancing home loans has reached an all-time high.

Australians refinanced a record $17.2 billion in home loans in July, up 60 per cent from a year earlier as borrowers sought to take advantage of lower interest rates and a booming domestic property market nationwide.

The value of net new flows in the entire Australian home loan market stands at around $370 billion a year.

In a market characterised by unprecedented digital disruption, it’s not difficult to see Australia following other markets such as the US, with 30 per cent of the market being digital in three years. Nano aims to lead this estimated $100 billion-plus annual digital home loan market opportunity.

“In just over a month since our public launch, we hit $100 million in unconditionally approved loans. This speaks volumes of the market appetite for our disruptive technology.

“We’re enabling Australian homeowners to break free from outdated traditional systems and experience a new way of securing and managing their mortgage,” Mr Walker said.

An industry ripe for disruption

Nano believes the Australian mortgage market, lacks innovation and is riddled with non-customer centric products, complexity and opaque pricing.

Industry reports show home loan approvals can take up to 24 days (*1), and customer research has found 75 per cent of Australians have had a negative experience with their current home lender and would prefer to apply online (*2).

“Many lenders claim to be innovative and offer a “digital application” but in reality, it is a digital application form with loan processing still done manually,” Mr Walker said.

Using its core principles of digital, data and design, Nano has built an online application and decision engine that includes digitised property valuations, credit assessment, serviceability and identification which traditional lenders are still struggling to achieve.

“We have not only delivered a dramatically superior customer experience, but we’ve radically improved the operating unit economics” Mr Walker added.

Nano set to expand business partnerships

The patented technology platform that powers the Nano digital home loan is being rolled out across the industry to players that appreciate the significance of certainty, predictability and
time to yes.

“Customer demand for digital interaction is no longer a trend, it’s a baseline requirement. This is going to present both challenges and opportunities for mortgage industry participants
looking to meet customer expectations.

“This is the new frontline of competition across the industry. Those that cannot meet the new digital service standard will face a Blockbuster moment” Mr Walker said.

“Mortgage brokers, banks and non-bank lenders, as well as their technology partners, can benefit from our simple and intuitive technology platform that is currently unmatched in the industry,” he concluded.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 30 September 2021 —

Sources

1. The Australian Financial Review, 14 August 2021, James Thomson, Cooling housing

FOMO won’t be easy for APRA, RBA, https://www.afr.com/chanticleer/cooling-
housing-fomo-won-t-be-easy-for-apra-rba-20210914-p58rh0

2. PureProfile Research, March 2021, based on a sample size of 1000 people aged 18+