Jacaranda Finance Wins Best Lending Innovation in the 2024 Finder Innovation Awards
Guest Writer |
Finder's judges recognise Jacaranda Finance as one of the most innovative companies in Australian lending.
Finder's Innovation Awards are an annual search for the most innovative companies in Australia across everything from AI and household appliances to payments and lending.
This year there were just four finalists in the Lending Innovation category, and Jacaranda Finance came out on top.
Innovation looks a little different to everyone, but at the end of the day it all comes down to doing something new, or doing something better than the competition, in a way that actually matters to customers and end users.
In the lending and credit industry, this can mean a few things: matching customers to the right credit products faster and more accurately via automation and clever tools. It can mean faster loan approvals and tools that give customers more control over their money.
Jacaranda's innovation is the update of its proprietary score, the “Edge Score”, a unique credit assessment tool that replaces the traditional reliance on an applicant's credit score. The Edge Score goes beyond what a traditional credit score looks at and considers far more data points about a person's financial life.
The credit score is very much part of the lending industry's status quo. But it has significant limitations. Past mistakes weigh heavily on someone's credit history. There is a lag effect with data making its way to the bureau when it comes to comprehensive data. Good behaviour doesn't always make it into consideration if the lender isn't a part of Comprehensive Credit Reporting.
Jacaranda Finance’s title as Best Lending Innovation is a testament to their commitment to supporting their customers with their lending needs: When a bank says no, borrowers should see if Jacaranda Finance can help.
By creating a tool that offers a more detailed view of a borrower's financial habits and decisions, Jacaranda can get a better idea of someone's ability to repay a loan. This is a genuine innovation and one that really impressed Finder's Innovation Awards judges for its part in helping customers secure a better financial future.
Richard Whitten is a money editor at Finder, and has been covering home loans, property and finance for over 6 years. He has written for Yahoo Finance, Money Magazine and Homely, and has appeared on radio shows nationwide.