Inside Brighten’s rise as the non-bank lender of choice

Publication Date: Monday, 30 Jun 2025
This article originally appeared in Australian Broker.

Before launching a new product, updating policies or rolling out a digital tool, non-bank lender Brighten does something radical: it talks to brokers. Not to sell. Not to incentivise. But to listen. The result? A solution-based lender built for brokers. 

At a time when some lenders are narrowing their focus or relying solely on automation, Brighten is taking a different route – building breadth into its offerings while ensuring brokers and customers feel heard and supported. 

“We actively engage brokers in monthly surveys and receive a high response rate,” says Jason Azzopardi, Brighten’s CEO. “We then go back to brokers and understand their wants and needs – and then build that into our go-forward strategy.” 

By blending personalised service with a robust digital backbone, Brighten has managed to stand out in an industry often defined by a tick-box approach. With a comprehensive suite of loan products for everyone from small business owners to savvy property investors, the lender has aggressively expanded its reach, adding thousands of brokers to its platform. Behind this growth is a clear strategy: invest in technology that makes the brokers’ jobs easier, listen carefully to their feedback and never lose sight of the human element that underpins trust in financial services. 

“What sets us apart is we have a solution for every Australian – whether you’re building your investment property portfolio or your dream home, whether you’re a self-employed individual or an expat living overseas”

One-stop shop

At the heart of Brighten’s growth strategy lies product diversity.  

“What sets us apart is we have a solution for every Australian – whether you’re building your investment property portfolio or your dream home, whether you’re a self-employed individual or an expat living overseas, we have a product designed for you,” says Azzopardi.  

To support its broad customer base, Brighten has continued to expand and refine its product suite. 

“We’ve introduced a vacant-land product for buyers wanting to lock in land availability in competitive markets or families securing land today with plans to build when they’re ready.” 

The lender hasn’t stopped at residential home loans. Azzopardi highlights Brighten’s recent expansion into markets many competitors haven’t fully addressed. 

“We’ve gone into the commercial sector with dedicated products for people who want to buy factories for their businesses or other commercial properties,” he adds. “We’ve introduced Brighten Lift® – a short-term asset lending product, which requires no income documentation, making it accessible for SMEs seeking fast, hassle-free funding.” 

Technology as the enabler

While product range creates appeal, Brighten’s technological infrastructure is the foundation for its service delivery model. The company has invested significantly in systems that streamline processes for brokers and end customers. 

“We’ve upgraded our broker portal, allowing them to track deals from application through to settlement in real time,” says Azzopardi. “Don’t worry about calling us, don’t worry about emailing us; a simple login to our cloud-based platform which we built in-house on Salesforce, and brokers have visibility.” 

This focus on reducing friction points led to the implementation of NextGen’s ApplyOnline®, a platform widely used in the Australian mortgage market. 

“We recognised that gap in our service offering to brokers, and in our never-ending quest to be easy to deal with, we partnered with NextGen in November last year,” Azzopardi notes. 

Brighten has also developed customer-facing technology with the same commitment to simplicity and efficiency. 

“We’ve also upgraded our service portal that customers use post-settlement,” Azzopardi says. “The new portal has many more features to provide a seamless experience.” 

Balancing human and digital elements

Azzopardi emphasises that relationships are at the core of Brighten’s operations. 

“Brighten’s success has always been built on our people,” he states. “The team we’ve assembled is market-leading in terms of broker relationships and service.” 

The human element provides expertise that technology alone cannot deliver, particularly when handling complex lending scenarios. 

“We’re going to launch our SMSF product this year. With that, there won’t be another lender in Australia that has a product Brighten doesn’t offer”

“Our credit team in Sydney is thoroughly experienced in complex issues, which means they can help brokers get deals across the line,” says Azzopardi. “Our BDMs across Australia are very responsive to brokers and are a key pillar of Brighten’s success.” 

This emphasis on personal connections and expertise doesn’t contradict Brighten’s focus on technological advancement; instead, Azzopardi sees technology as amplifying human capabilities. 

“All our teams are backed by technology. Our strategy is to use technology as an enabler,” he explains. “It helps us operate more efficiently and deliver better responses to our customers.” 

With brokers originating over 75% of home loans in Australia, Brighten has designed its business model to ensure minimal friction when they use the lender’s products and technology. 

“We’re continuing to invest in our core technology to sustainably scale the business to deliver Brighten’s mantra to be easy to deal with,” Azzopardi says. “We’re doing that very strategically to ensure we’re providing the greatest benefit to our customers and our broker partners.” 

More partnerships and new products in the works

The company’s growth trajectory includes expanding broker access through strategic partnerships. 

Earlier in the year, Brighten joined Mortgage Choice’s lending panel – and there are more partnerships under discussion.  

“We’re going to continue expanding into the broker network through national aggregator partnerships. Product development is also going well,” Azzopardi says. 

“We’re going to launch our SMSF product this year. With that, there won’t be another lender in Australia that has a product Brighten doesn’t offer,” he says. “SMSF lending has a reputation as difficult to understand, which is exactly why Brighten’s ‘easy-to-deal-with’ approach will have extra value for brokers.” 

Azzopardi says this comprehensive approach to product development aligns with the company’s goals for continued expansion.

“There’s a lot of innovation, whether it be technology, product or people. We’re very excited about building on the pillars we have so far and continuing to grow into the future.” 

The company’s growth is a product not just of algorithms and APIs but of a very human kind of intelligence: knowing how to listen.