The remarkable rise of Rate Money is showing no signs of slowing down. Each branch is now settling an average of $9m monthly, with new branches continuing to open nationwide. This is a remarkable result considering that most branches are in their first 12 months of operation.
The rise and rise of non-bank lender Rate Money has been phenomenal. Founded by a highly experienced team of three mortgage professionals (with a combined 50-plus years of industry experience) in 2019, it identified that the mainstream lending market had major flaws for self-employed applicants. So, Rate Money set out to support this market segment by developing new and innovative ways to help the self-employed people of Australia – commonly referred to as the backbone of the Australian economy.
It was a masterstroke. This niche market was incredibly undervalued by the lending industry. Even though20%of Australia’s workforce is said to be self-employed, this is still seen as a niche market.
Rate Money CEO Ryan Gair says, “We love helping Australia’s self-employed. They are brave, hard-working people who the whole country loves talking about but rarely do anything to support. We wanted to change that. After all, we are self-employed too.”
The growth Rate Money has experienced in the last 18 months has been miraculous. Taking, as Gair says, “a long, hard look at ourselves and our brand,” the company refined and honed its offering, its products, and its overall brand to great effect. Rate Money's brand ethos is to provide self-employed Australians with the home loans, respect, and service they so richly deserve. And it appears that the Rate Money brand refresh has been a hit throughout the country.
In August last year, after 18 months of trading, Rate Money broke the $1bn mark in settlements. Even more remarkable is that just six months later, It has doubled that amount, reporting total settlements of over $2bn.
Rate Money’s network of branches is expanding into many other parts of the nation. In just over two years of operation, the company has 21 branches covering NSW, Vic and Tas, with a further three branches opening across NSW and Vic in February.
“One of our main focuses this year is expanding our presence into Queensland. We want to provide a solution for all self-employed applicants up and down the eastern seaboard. We are receiving leads daily from applicants in Queensland. It’s vital that Queensland's hard-working self-employed people know we can provide them with a solution to their financial needs,” says Gair.
There is still plenty of room for growth. Let’s face it, Australia is a big place, Gair says. “In the last three months, we’ve seen a surge of enquiries from industry employees looking to become the next proud owner of a Rate Money branch. It’s exciting to see and perfect timing to welcome more people aboard as we’re forecasting another outstanding year. According to our forecasts, we expect to double the number of branches by the end of 2022 and double our settlements in the same period.”
Rate Money is, by definition, bespoke. With highly innovative products and a new and improved custom-made CRM on the way, the company offers new branch principles of simplicity from day one. The Rate Money board continues to improve things for branch principals. Rate Money invests heavily in the business to fast-track new and innovative products and processes to ensure that those within the business can function easily and stay ahead of the competition. More importantly, it gives its self-employed customers the best loans and services they can find. With an outstanding digital advertising campaign to drive new customers to Rate Money’s branches this year, finding customers hasn’t proved difficult for its old and new branch principals.
According to the MFAA’s quarterly survey of leading mortgage brokers and aggregators in July–September 2021, the total value of mortgages settled through non-bank lenders is at a record high. There has never been a better time to become the independent owner of a Rate Money branch.
For more information on becoming the proud owner of a Rate Money branch, visit ratemoney.com.au/join-us-as-a-branch-principal
