IPO Watch: Profitable lender MoneyMe is the latest fintech to join the ASX

Another fintech is listing on the ASX today – personal lender and credit provider MoneyMe.

The company began in 2013 and provided its first loan in May of that year.

Since then it has handed out 230,000 loans worth around $430m. It reached break-even in the 2017 financial year.

Fintechs on the ASX that have been listed for over 12 months have gained an average 107 per cent in that time, according to Bloomberg.

And fintechs that have listed in 2019, including Splitit (ASX:SPT), Sezzle (ASX:SZL) and Tyro Payments (ASX:TYR), all enjoyed stellar gains post-listing.

MoneyMe founder Clayton Howes told Stockhead the time was right to list and the ASX was the ideal market. Ninety per cent of MoneyMe staff invested in the IPO.

“Access to the capital markets makes us dangerous – it will create the advantage for us to expand our product range and relevance for customers,” he said.

“We think the market will reward us for being a profitable business.”

“The ASX is a credible place for businesses to operate in. Businesses and other parts of the market can hear about us, an Australian company doing well with an expansion proposition and profitable.”

“It’s the right place and space to flourish.”

Breaking into new markets

MoneyMe wants to continue to roll out its products and enter overseas markets.

The company’s personal loan product is the foundation of the business. But gradually Freestyle – a virtual credit account – will replace this.

“The customer gets a personal loan in under five minutes with AI – efficiency, speed and transparency was missing [from traditional loans] and we delivered,” he said.

“It’s real and cannibalising traditional bank products and they’ll find it difficult to complete.”

In its overseas pursuits the US market is an “an obvious expansion proposition”.

“It’s such an opportunity for us, we cannot turn a blind eye to it – we’ve been trying to [enter] for 24 months,” Howes said.

Not just for the young’uns

It is a common stereotype that older demographics aren’t good with technology.

But Howes rejected the proposition that MoneyMe was just for millennials. He pointed out that 30 per cent of customers were over 40 and described his customers as “millennials by behaviour as opposed to by age”.

“A generation is not about an age generation but a behavioural shift — wanting to be convenient,” he said.

“We are a tech savvy nation. A 40-year-old is as tech savvy as a millennial with an iPhone 11 max. They’re subscribed to Netflix and use Uber as a normal means of transport.”

“That custom is us and it’s a MoneyMe customer.”