Nano aims to reshape the financial services industry by taking advantage of technology.

Launched in 2019, Nano is a digital mortgage lender and the brainchild of two former big bank employees Andrew Walker and Chris Lumby who now serve as the company’s CEO and CXO, respectively.

“Using technology, we remove the opaqueness out of the process, making home loans simple, fast, and fair,” Mr Walker said.

Nano takes advantage of digital technology to simplify the mortgage application process. With the use of automated property valuations, digital credit scores, automatic retrieval of transaction data, and digital identity verification, Nano is able to cut the application time from weeks to just a few minutes.  

“With our advanced digital capabilities and technology, we can approve your home loan in minutes, not weeks,” Mr Walker said.

“This isn’t just an application, but includes everything from checking your property valuation, performing a credit check, validating your income and ability to service to loan, verifying your identity.”

What home loans does Nano offer?

Nano currently offers owner-occupied and investor home loans for borrowers looking to refinance. Borrowers can choose to make principal and interest (P&I) or interest-only (IO) repayments.

Nano borrowers are provided with a 100% offset sub-account for no additional costs.

“Every dollar in your offset sub-account helps to reduce the principal you owe and helps to reduce your interest payments,” Mr Walker said.

The offset account comes with a Nano Visa debit card which can be linked via Apple Pay or Google Pay.

How to refinance your home loan at Nano

Borrowers looking to refinance their home loan with Nano should visit the Nano website.

“Our application is all online, meaning you don’t have to provide endless copies of paperwork,” Mr Walker said.

“It is all managed digitally, from your desktop or mobile phone, so you can refinance anywhere, anytime.”

Nano’s application platform will ask borrowers about the details of the property, including the location and estimated current value.

To secure the application, Nano requires borrowers to use their mobile number to log in to their platform.

How to qualify for a home loan at Nano

If you’re looking to refinance with Nano, you must:

• Be over 18 years old.

• Be an Australian citizen or a permanent resident.

• Have a good credit rating.

• Have a minimum household income of $100,000.

The application and the property must also meet the following criteria:

• The loan-to-value ratio (LVR) must not exceed 75%.

• The value of the loan must fall between $100,000 and $2.5m.

• The property must be an existing single property.

Nano will soon offer loans to self-employed professionals and new home purchases. It also plans to allow customers to have multiple loans with a total value not exceeding $5m.

Nano says they have plans to offer home loans for new borrowers in the near future.

What fees does Nano charge with refinancing applications?

Borrowers can take comfort in Nano’s $0 fee policy — they will not incur any costs when they refinance their current home loan with Nano.

However, borrowers should know that they might still have to take care of third-party refinancing costs of around $260 to $440, which may include fees for title registration, discharge of mortgage, and title search. These government refinance costs vary by state.

Stamp duty may also apply, especially when borrowers are also in the process of transferring the property into a new name as they refinance their mortgages.

Additionally, their current lenders might also charge exit or discharge fees.

Nano does not also charge any fees when customers transact using their Nano Visa debit card locally or overseas.

Withdrawals using the card are also free of charge, even overseas. It is still worth noting, however, that some ATM providers charge third-party fees.

How Nano’s offset sub-account differs from traditional offset accounts

When refinancing with Nano, borrowers are automatically given an offset sub-account free of any charges.

Nano’s offset sub-account operates similarly to a traditional offset account. However, Nano’s offset sub-account does not have a separate, stand-alone account number.

The funds in a Nano offset sub-account can only ever be used to offset the loan account and are not considered as deposit funds.

Given that Nano is not an Authorised Deposit-Taking Institution (ADI), funds in a Nano offset-sub account are not part of the government’s Financial Claims Scheme.

Still, borrowers can use their Nano Visa debit card to transact from the offset sub-account feature of their home loans. They can also use their debit card to make instant payments using the New Payments Platform.

Borrowers are encouraged to take advantage of this offset sub-account to pay off their home loans faster.

Funds sitting in the offset sub-account reduce the amount of interest borrowers pay on their home loans.

To make the most of the offset feature, borrowers can make instant or recurring payments to their offset sub-account from another eligible account. They can also have their salary credited to their sub-accounts.

How can borrowers take advantage of the Nano App?

Nano makes it easier for its clients to track their home loans through their Nano mobile app, which is available to Apple and Android users.

With the app, borrowers can view movements in the loan and offset sub-account through visualised data.

Borrowers can also track their spending and instantly send money using the app.

Users can also create up to 10 vaults in their offset sub-account using the app, which they can use to apportion funds according to a specific purpose.

Frequently Asked Questions about Nano Home Loans

Where does Nano get its funding to provide the loans?

Nano is a non-bank lender, which means that it gets money from wholesale funding markets to fund loans. As a digital lender, Nano is able to offer competitive rates and zero fees.

What are the chances that Nano ceases to operate?

Nano has secured $33m in Series A funding in 2020, which provides it with a sufficient buffer to operate in case of any financial setback. This makes it unlikely for Nano to cease to operate.

What other home loan products will Nano offer in the future?

As of press time, Nano only offers refinancing applications. Home loans for new home purchases are currently in the works.

Nano is also set to offer other loan features such as topping up and boosting maximum multiple loan sizes.

Is Nano a bank?

Nano is not a bank, but it has an Australian Credit License, which allows it to provide lending products. Currently, Nano specialises in home loans.

How much deposit is needed to apply for a loan at Nano?

Refinancing at Nano must meet the maximum loan-to-value ratio of 75%, which means that the borrower must have a 25% equity in their property.

How much can refinancers borrow?

Borrowers will be assessed based on their personal financial circumstances to determine how much they can borrow but the total loan amount must fall within the $100,000 to $2.5m range.

How much interest does Nano charge on home loans?

Nano offers some of the lowest owner-occupier and investor rates in the market. At the time of writing, the standard variable rates for loans with P&I payments are 1.99% p.a. (1.99% p.a. comparison rate) for owner-occupiers and 2.29% p.a. (2.99% p.a. comparison rate) for investors.

Why are Nano comparison rates lower or similar to the advertised rates?

Nano does not charge fees, which means that the advertised rate already reflects the true cost of a Nano loan.

For interest-only loans which has a five-year term, the comparison rate is lower as it assumes that the advertised P&I rate will be unchanged when the loan reverts.