Digital and neobank home loans
Digital challenger banks are gearing up to give you more control of your mortgage, and maybe lower repayments too.
Key takeaways
- Neobanks can offer competitive home loan rates due to their online-only models and lower operating costs.
- Digital lenders like Tiimely Home provide fast online applications and real-time financial tracking via apps.
- Some neobanks such as Athena may reduce rates as you build equity, rewarding good repayment behaviour.
Which digital lenders offer home loans?
Here are all the neobank and digital lenders we know that have launched mortgage products in Australia, or are planning to.
| Company | Status | Product details |
|---|---|---|
| Tiimely Home | Live | The first high-tech lender in Australia, Tiimely Home offers fast online application processing and competitive home loan products. Tiimely Home only offers home loans (with offset accounts). It was initially launched as Tic:Toc. |
| Athena | Live | Athena's mortgages for owner occupiers and investors offer competitive rates that fall over time as you build equity. Athena's loans are available to purchasers and refinancers. Athena focuses on home loans only and doesn't offer other products. |
| Revolut | TBA | We don't know much right now, but Revolut has been shaking up the mortgage market in the UK. |
What is a neobank?
A neobank is an online-only bank that offers its services digitally, usually through an app, rather than with physical branches. Because these banks don't have the overhead cost of operating branches, they can generally offer better rates on savings and loan products.
While there are many online-only financial institutions, what sets neobanks apart is that they don't operate on legacy systems. In other words, the technology driving digital banks has been built from the ground up and doesn't rely on any existing processes.
Learn more about Australia's digital banks
What about other online banks?
The term neobank feels a bit like a marketing term. And it kind of is. Neobanks are selling themselves as something different from the traditional banks. They're challenging the traditional finance world using data, apps and a digital-first approach.
There are a few other online lenders who are really competing with the neobanks (or more correctly, against whom the neobanks will compete). These include:
- UBank. A digital-only brand owned by NAB, UBank is challenging traditional banks in the same way as neobanks.
- Loans.com.au. A completely digital lender, loans.com.au competes with low rate products and pride itself on personable phone and online service.
- ING. A traditional lender, ING has been online-first for a while and have a very popular app.
- ME Bank. Formerly a credit union, ME Bank is now an entirely online lender.
Find more online lenders and their mortgage products on our online lenders page.
How do neobank products differ?
Neobank products are driven by the technology that underpins their platforms. At present, most Australian neobanks offer transaction accounts, savings accounts and/or prepaid spending cards. Many neobank accounts also allow customers to hold multiple currencies.
In addition to mortgages, 86 400 offers a range of banking services with low fees and plenty of flexibility. This is something Nano has promised when it launches too. Lenders like Athena and Tiimely Home focus entirely on home loans.
The real point of differentiation for many neobanks comes in how users interact with them. Neobanks typically tie their products to apps that provide detailed tracking of their savings and spending. The apps can also categorise spending so users know where their money is going. This will help give customers a clear overview of their finances. Many utilise AI to help build savings and budgeting goals for customers, and some tout their apps' seamless payment systems.
At this stage, with few neobanks lending to Australian borrowers, not every new lender offers borrowers a detailed look at their data via an app. But we expect this to become more common as this part of the mortgage industry expands.
How do I switch to a neobank?
At present, many neobanks may not be able to fully take the place of your main financial institution. If you want to access neobank products, you can compare them in the table below. Some neobank products are not yet available, but you can sign up for the bank's waitlist to be among the first alerted when the products launch.
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