Volt, an Australian digital banking service, has partnered with Australian Finance Group Ltd (ASX:AFG) – a large mortgage aggregator. The partnership with Volt is a significant sign of confidence for the emerging Fintech. Simultaneously, Volt has extended its Series E funding round.
According to a release, Volt’s banking as a service (BaaS) platform will be utilized as a white-label service to power AFGs. mortgage product and made available to a network of almost 3000 brokers. Volt and AFG are expected to work together to develop and distribute further Volt white label products to AFG brokers in the future, including personal and business loans. It was reported by AFR that AFG has taken an 8% equity stake in Volt Bank for $15 million at a pre-money valuation of $150 million.
Volt is Australia’s first neobank and currently has over 8,000 customers with more than $88 million in deposits. The Fintech claims to be a leader in the BaaS sector in Australia.
The strategic alliance will also provide a white-label personal finance manager (PFM) powered by Volt.
Once certain pre-conditions are satisfied, the Volt-powered digital mortgage product and AFG branded PFM app are expected to be piloted in the last quarter of 2021 and be made available to AFG brokers in the first quarter of 2022.
Volt Founder and CEO, Steve Weston, said that AFG is a pioneer in the mortgage broking industry touching one out of every 11 homes in Australia:
“Its endorsement of Volt’s digital offering, through this strategic alliance and equity investment, is a landmark moment for our company. Volt has distinguished itself by pursuing a unique Banking as a Service (BaaS) strategy and the partnership with AFG is testament to the demand for integrated and white-label banking to help businesses deepen relationships with their customers.”
AFG CEO, David Bailey, explained that the alliance expects to deliver significant value to both companies as they combine Volt’s technology with AFG’s vast distribution footprint.
“The combination of innovative lending and financial management technology, via Volt’s digital bank offering and AFG’s distribution, is compelling.”
To date, the Series E round has raised $37.7 million with the aim to raise $85 million.
Volt also shared that former chair of HSBC Bank Australia, Graham Bradley AM, will join the Volt board as chair in June. Volt’s current chair, John Masters, will become deputy chair and chair of the Audit Committee.
Bradley said he was excited by the opportunities that lie ahead for Volt and he is delighted to join the team that will shape the company’s future strategic direction.
“The Volt team has successfully navigated the COVID disruptions of 2020 with their Banking as a Service strategy intact. With the new strategic partnership with AFG and additional capital funding, Volt is well-positioned to scale up quickly to provide highly-efficient and competitive financial services to the Australian market.”
