CBA's latest tie-up another sign that fintechs are now frenemies for banks
In the latest sign of big banks being more willing to partner with fintechs, CBA has teamed up with property platform Coposit to ease access to off-the-plan properties.
We've previously written at length about growing moves by the major banks to collaborate — rather than compete — with fintechs to drive innovation. Commonwealth Bank’s new partnership with fledgling fintech Coposit, dubbed by one masthead as the 'Afterpay for units', is just the latest example.
Less than four years old and yet to raise external funding, Coposit works with developers so property buyers can lock in a purchase with only $10,000 and pay off the full deposit over the period until settlement.
Coposit’s founders, brothers Chris and Daniel Ferris, come from the property industry and developed the app-based platform to address the challenge of the time taken to build up the 10% deposit typically required for an off-the-plan purchase but the partnership with CBA gives it the imprimatur of a major bank.
“We're not a financial product so we don't fund the deposit,” Chris Ferris told Capital Brief. “We’ve worked with CBA — and other partners — to effectively change the lending policy and pre-qualify borrowers for off-the-plan purchases. The full deposit is paid by the time of settlement but they only need the $10,000 up front.”
