loans.com.au is proudly part of the Firstmac Group. Launched by Marie Mortimer in 2011 as a retail brand for non-bank lender Firstmac, loans.com.au was one of Australia's first online lenders allowing people to get a home loan online. Today, loans.com.au remains one of the largest and most trusted online lenders in the country.
To find out more about the people behind our story:
2011
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In 2011, we owned the domain name loans.com.au and built our website.
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In our first week, we launched with a killer rate and the AFR wrote an article about us. We were in the office on a Friday night watching home loan applications come in after hours, when bank branches were closed and people were applying for finance online!
2012
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It didn't take long for us to get recognised by the experts, with awards for our home loan products from Your Money Magazine, Canstar, Mozo and more from our first year and beyond.
2016
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In 2016, we expanded from home loans and started offering low rate car loans.
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We also launched our end-to-end application app onTrack, allowing you to upload your documents and track the status from application to settlement completely online, all from your device.
2018
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In 2018, our parent-company Firstmac's sponsorship of the Brisbane Broncos was extended to loans.com.au.
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We also successfully petitioned to get legendary Queensland player Allan "Alfie" Langer a statue at Suncorp Stadium.
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We launched our "Green Car" discount, rewarding car loan borrowers for choosing more energy efficient vehicles.
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Finally, we launched our Smart Money online services app.
2020
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In July 2020, we became Australia's first lender to offer a rate lower than 2%.
2021
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2021 was a big year for loans.com.au. In celebrating our 10 years of business, we launched our Women, Children & Community Program to get ourselves more involved in our community with our charity partners.
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We also launched our low rate SMSF home loan, and a "Green Home Loan" discount, encouraging customers to buy or build an energy efficient home.
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We launched our sister company and car buying service, OnlineAuto.com.au.
2022
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We launched our "Electric Vehicle loan" discount to meet Australia's transition towards choosing electric cars.
Our loans
No matter whether you're looking at buying your first home, your next home, a used car or a new Tesla, we're here to help. You'll talk to a real Australian-based expert and you'll be assigned one dedicated lending specialist and support specialist so you don't have to answer the same questions over and over again.
Our Purpose
loans.com.au is more than just an online lender. We understand that nobody really wants a loan, rather, they want a home to live in, a new car to drive, their next investment property or to save thousands on an existing loan.
We put people at the heart of everything we do, and that doesn't stop at supporting customers with their home and car finance. We also do our best to support our local community through our Women, Children & Community Program. We participate in a number of ways, whether it be financial support, employer-supported volunteering, donating items or raising awareness for local charitable causes. We support a number of causes which benefits the Women, Children and wider Community throughout Australia.
We're also extremely passionate about implementing green values within our business and in our product offering. We're proud to reward customers who choose more environmentally friendly options for their home and car with a Green Home Loan Discount, a Green Car Loan Discount and an Electric Vehicle Discount. Plus, our office is paperless, with more than 300 staff working to reduce our waste consumption by processing all home loans and completing our day-to-day tasks online, without using any paper.
As a leader in the fintech space, our Managing Director Marie Mortimer is extremely passionate about developing the fintech industry in Australia, and is a Board Member of FinTech Australia and FinTech QLD. Marie is also a Director of community housing not-for-profit, Mangrove Housing, which provides affordable housing solutions for over 2000 at risk people in Queensland, leading by example in the community.
To read more about the loans.com.au Women, Children & Community Program:
Why choose loans.com.au?
Low Interest rates
Being an online lender with fewer overheads means we’re able to pass on the savings to our customers.
Australian based
Get help when you need it from our friendly team of Australian based, lending specialists.
Flexible options
Looking to save with an offset, or make extra repayments with a redraw? We have a full range of loan features to suit your situation
Award winning
We’re award winning, so that’s a win for you too. As a customer you’ll enjoy the benefits of our award-winning home loans.
Frequently asked questions
Is loans.com.au a bank? Is loans.com.au a broker?
Just because a lot of our money comes from the banks, that doesn’t mean we are a broker for the banks. When you take out a loan with us you are borrowing from us, not them, and you will deal directly with our friendly Customer Care team for the life of your loan.
Where do you get your money from?
Our associate company Firstmac issues securities, called Residential Mortgage Backed Securities (RMBS), to Australian and international institutions and investors. The Australian major banks are large investors in our RMBS which reflects the confidence of major investors in our business. Since 2003, Firstmac has issued over $32 billion in RMBS.
Once I am in will you hike up my rate?
At loans.com.au we try to keep our rates as low as possible for all our customers. However, we still have to change our variable rates in response to changes in our funding costs. In a falling interest rate environment we don’t hesitate to cut rates for existing customers. For instance, between November 2011 and March 2020 we cut rates for existing customers in our largest loan category – owner occupiers with Principal & Interest loans - 15 times, and only raised them 4 times. They joined on a great rate and found themselves on an even lower rate!
We make sure our rates for existing customers are always highly competitive compared to other lenders, but if you want to fully protect yourself against potential rises, we also offer competitive fixed-rate loans that will lock in your repayments for up to 3 years.
Is it safe? Is it a scam?
We are backed by the financial strength Firstmac, a leading non-bank lender which has been in business for over four decades. You can be secure in the knowledge that we are regulated by the Australian government (ASIC/NCCP).
loans.com.au is financially strong, conservatively managed, and regulated by the Australian government.
Our operations are covered by the National Consumer Credit Protection Act which is enforced by the consumer watchdog, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
All of our staff are fully trained in their obligations under these laws and dedicated to ensuring that the product you select meets your requirements and objectives.
We are solid, but don’t just take our word for it. International ratings agency Standard & Poor's awards our associate company Firstmac its highest possible ranking for loan serviceability – STRONG. "Firstmac continues to demonstrate strong servicing quality," Standard & Poor's said. According to Standard & Poor's, Firstmac's key strengths include:
- A well-established position as an experienced primary servicer of prime residential mortgages
- A comprehensive corporate governance and risk-management framework
- A well-designed internal-controls framework and internal audit program, supported by structured annual audit plans;
- Solid loan-processing and servicing infrastructure
- A robust training and development program
So what are you waiting for? Chat to us today - you could save thousands.
Talk to a home loan expert
Our experienced loan specialists are here to help – just book a call to have all your questions answered.