Why tech can’t replace the human mortgage broker
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FOR A long time, a home loan would start with a phone call. A borrower would ring their broker, often someone a friend had recommended, and within minutes the relationship was underway. There was something almost ceremonial about it: you explained your situation, they listened, and by the end of the call you had a reasonable sense of whether this was someone you could trust with one of the biggest financial decisions of your life.
That call is still happening, but it’s no longer where most borrowers begin. Today the first move is more likely a tap on a phone screen, a web form submitted at 11 pm, or a chatbot exchange that collects the basics before a human being ever enters the picture. The gateway into the home loan process has shifted, and the industry is still working out what that means.
Established in 2011, Finsure has evolved into one of Australia’s largest mortgage broking groups. The core of our business ethos is a desire to provide the strongest value proposition to all our broker partners. This underpins who we are as an organisation, and why we are able to provide the maximum value to those who align with us. We currently have a network of over 4,000 brokers, while our loan book exceeds $175 billion. With an international presence, Finsure is a dynamic, scalable, technology-enabled aggregator that is ahead of the pack and driving broker recruitment through our innovative solutions and breadth of service.
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Simon Bednar, Finsure
Simon Bednar, group chief executive at Finsure, has been watching this transition closely. “Over the past several years, we’ve witnessed a fundamental shift in how Australian borrowers begin their home loan journey,” he says. “Today, technology is no longer an optional layer sitting on top of the broker experience – it’s the gateway.”
That gateway, Bednar is quick to point out, is not without its limitations. Digital fact-finds have become standard practice, with most customers now opting to begin their engagement online. It’s efficient, it suits busy schedules, and it reflects what consumers have come to expect. But efficiency and trust are not the same thing.
“While digital tools streamline the functional aspects of onboarding, they don’t inherently build trust,” Bednar says. “A strong human connection simply cannot be formed through a form submission or a chatbot exchange. It’s face-to-face conversations – ideally in person or at minimum through video – that transform a transactional process into a trusted partnership.”
As digital tools become the default first point of contact for Australian borrowers, mortgage brokers and their aggregators face a question that goes well beyond software choices: how to use technology to streamline and personalise the process without eroding the trust and human understanding that turn a financial transaction into a genuine client relationship.
Ask most Australians what buying a home means to them and you won’t get a spreadsheet in return. You’ll get a story. The excitement of a first set of keys. The relief of finally having space after years of renting. The quiet satisfaction of downsizing once the kids have moved on.
Bednar understands this well. “A home loan is not just a financial product,” he says. “It’s the foundation of a future – as much an emotional decision as a rational one. For some, it’s the excitement of building a new life. For others, it’s the comfort of downsizing after kids have moved out. For many first-time buyers, it’s one of the biggest emotional milestones they’ll ever experience.”
This is where the case for the human broker is, arguably, at its strongest. No algorithm can read the relief on a client’s face when a conditional approval comes through. No chatbot can sense the anxiety beneath a question about fixed rates.
“No AI agent – no matter how advanced – can replicate the emotional intelligence, nuance and genuine empathy a broker brings to the table,” Bednar says. “That human understanding is what ultimately leads to better outcomes, deeper loyalty and deals that reflect the true needs of the client.”
Lender policy in a gig economy world
Understanding lender policy has always been part of the job. But as more Australians earn income through contracting, freelancing and platform-based work, the policies brokers must interpret have grown correspondingly intricate.
“As the gig economy expands and borrower incomes become more complex, lender guidelines have grown increasingly intricate – in some cases, nearly impenetrable,” Bednar explains.
The brokers best positioned to succeed in this environment, he argues, are those who commit to continuous learning, invest in building genuine relationships with lenders and make smart use of digital tools that translate policy complexity into something workable. Keeping pace with policy change is no longer a point of difference. It’s the baseline requirement for staying competitive.
What aggregators owe their brokers The role of the aggregator has shifted considerably. Where it once centred on lender panel access and commission processing, today’s brokers expect something more substantive from their aggregator relationships.
“Brokers today are business owners,” Bednar says. “They’re expanding, hiring, diversifying revenue streams and scaling operations. They need partners, not just platforms.” Finsure’s philosophy on this has been consistent. Bednar has argued publicly that aggregators must protect broker autonomy, offer flexible solutions and actively support business growth rather than constrain it. Rigid structures, in his view, undermine the independence that makes the broker proposition valuable in the first place.
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“No AI agent – no matter how advanced – can replicate the emotional intelligence, nuance and genuine empathy a broker brings to the table”
“Brokers want technology that enhances the human relationship, not replaces it. And that’s exactly what we’re building”
As digital tools become the gateway to home loans, Finsure argues that real conversations, smart data and broker autonomy remain essential to trust, compliance and sustainable business growth
While it won’t make you a cappuccino,
ScotPac’s Partner Portal makes helping commercial clients so fast and easy brokers will wonder how they did without it
For Finsure, this is not simply a philosophical position. It shapes the direction of its technology investment, the design of its tools and the expectations it sets for its network of more than 4,000 brokers. “Our industry’s strength comes from relationships – real ones, built through trust, respect and genuine connection,” Bednar adds.
Compliance – the broker’s weight to carry If there is one area causing consistent strain across the industry, it’s compliance. Deals are more complex than they were a decade ago. Income streams are more diversified, lender policies more varied, and the documentation required to meet regulatory expectations has expanded considerably.
Bednar sees this pressure up close. “The complexity of deals continues to grow,” he says. “More diversified income streams, more nuanced scenarios and more lender policy variations mean brokers are handling higher volumes of paperwork, deeper file notes and more extensive customer assessments.” Technology is beginning to offer some relief. Finsure is developing AI tools designed to give brokers and its internal team better visibility over customer behaviour, early signals of fraudulent activity and predictive metrics to get ahead of compliance issues before they escalate. But Bednar is careful not to overstate what technology can solve on its own. “There is always going to be a need for brokers to truly know their customer,” he says. “KYC is not a tick-box exercise; it’s a disciplined, human-led process of understanding the client’s story.”
The best interests duty adds further complexity. As a standard that’s inherently subjective, it demands judgement and experience rather than a checklist. Bednar has been vocal about the risks of obligations that erode broker independence, and he sees compliance as precisely where that pressure is most acutely felt.
How Finsure Intelligence reshapes broker capabilities
The emotional weight of a mortgage
Published 09 Mar 2026
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access deeper, more meaningful insights into their customer base
Finsure Intelligence and the next generation of tools
Late last year, Finsure launched what it calls Finsure Intelligence, a data warehouse designed to give brokers in its network access to deeper insights about their customer base. The practical applications are broad: improving client retention, tailoring marketing to actual behaviour rather than assumptions, and building business strategies grounded in real data rather than instinct.
The platform is also the foundation for what Finsure is developing next. “We’re developing a suite of market-leading AI agentic tools that will power our next-generation CRM,” Bednar explains, “all designed to automate the manual, elevate the meaningful and free brokers to spend more time with clients.”
The feedback from the network has been pointed in a consistent direction. “Brokers want technology that enhances the human relationship, not replaces it,” he says. “And that’s exactly what we’re building.”
The milestone of passing 4,000 brokers was, for Bednar, a reflection of something more than scale. “Our growth is driven by a broker-first philosophy – and technology is one of the most important ways we continue delivering on that promise,” he adds.
Where the industry is heading The next few years will sort the field. Bednar believes the brokers and aggregators that succeed will share a common set of characteristics: a willingness to adopt technology to streamline operations, the discipline to use data in ways that genuinely personalise the customer experience, and a commitment to staying connected through real-world interactions rather than retreating behind digital convenience.
The fundamentals, though, will not change. They never really do in this industry.
“Technology may start the relationship,” Bednar says, “but humans shape it.”
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About us
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People
Firms
Advertising
Authors
E-newsletter
Contact Us
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Australian Mortgage Awards
Events
White papers
Webinar
Australian Broker Podcast
Resources
TV
Virtual Roundtable
Sector Focus
Power Panel
Partnership Profile
Independent Feature
Executive Team Profile
Exclusive Leader Profile
Business Update
Big Deal
Premium Content
Technology
Reverse Mortgages
Spotlight Series
Specialist Lending
SME
Investment Loans
Commercial
Speciality
Best In Mortgage
News
News
Copyright © 2026 KM Business Information Australia Pty Ltd
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About us
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About us
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People
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Source: Finsure
improve retention outcomes
tailor conversations and marketing to real behaviours and needs
build business strategies backed by concrete data
adopt technology to streamline operations
stay connected to clients through real-world touchpoints
invest time in innovation, especially when they’re busy
Source: Finsure
Which brokers and aggregators will thrive over the next few years?
use data intelligently to deliver truly personalised customer experiences
Simon Bednar, Finsure
It enables Finsure’s broker network to:
Those that choose to: