Rate Money bucks the trend as lenders increase rates

Rate Money is moving against the grain. 

As a handful of lenders across Australia's loan markets increase their variable interest rates by 25 basis points in response to the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) recent rate hikes, Rate Money stands apart. 

For a limited time, the non-bank lender — which specializes in offering loans for self-employed individuals in Australia — has raised their variable rates by only 15 to 20 basis points on select loan products. 

"Every bank, every lender has automatically come out and said we're going up 25 points across the board," Ryan Gair, cofounder and chief executive officer of Rate Money, told Australian Broker. "No one's bucked the trend. And that's exactly what we're doing."

Gair said that while the economy remains relatively strong, rising inflation and living costs are stretching some household budgets.

"There's still a lot of self-employed people out there who are needing every single dollar that they can save," Gair explained. "And if we can help contribute to them saving $50, $60, $100 a month in interest, that will hopefully go a long way for a lot of households. And we have a lot of retired people in Australia who are always spending because they're retired and have unencumbered property. They're out there living their best retirement life; they're cashed up Baby Boomers who have sold their homes or have downsized. 

"And we've always said that if we can look after our customers, even if it's in a small way, that's what we're all about," he continued. "And we've been able to do that this time; we can take a bit of a hit and pass the savings on to the customer."

New refinance options

In addition, Rate Money has launched the Easy Dollar for Dollar Refinance loan.

The full-doc loan, with an interest rate of 5.81% p.a., is based on a borrower’s repayment history. It’s designed for self-employed individuals, or those who write off most of their income for tax purposes, who may struggle to secure a loan from a traditional bank. To qualify, borrowers must have made consistent repayments over the past 12 months without missing a single payment.

"If you go to a bank, and you're looking for a cheaper interest rate, you've got to give them your tax returns. And if your tax return only shows $50,000 worth of income, and you want to borrow a million dollars, the bank is not going to service the loan, even if the borrower has made every single repayment every single month," Gair said. 

"A bank rate at the moment, on a prime full-doc loan after the rate rise, you're going to be sitting at roughly between 5.5% to 5.6%," he continued. "We're slightly higher than that. But if you went to a bank with a tax return of only $50,000, and your loan amount is a million dollars, you have no chance of getting a loan. Zero. So we'll refinance the original 7% loan to 5.99, and the customer just got 1% off their home loan. That's huge. That puts them in a lot better position. If it's a million-dollar loan, you're saving them 1%, that's about $15,000 a year in interest you're saving. It's a lot of money." 

Rate Money's expansion plans

Sydney-headquartered Rate Money was founded in 2019. In February 2025, the lender's loans exceeded $10 billion in loans. That same month, the lender set a bold target: $3 billion in new loans for 2025 alone.

So far in 2026, Gair – who founded Rate Money with Glenn Maynard and Luke Sheales –  said February 2026 was the busiest February the company has seen in the past three years.

"We've had a huge uptick in inquiries and new customers coming in," Gair said. "I think there's a few reasons behind that: banks have tightened up. They moved away from trust and company lending. They're playing more into that vanilla PAYG space. And we're seeing the non-bank lenders being more aggressive to get back some of that market share.

"I do think purchases to the property market won't be gangbusters this year; I think we're going to have a quieter year in property growth," he added. "But I do believe a lot of customers, when rates are going up, are going to be looking for solutions and options for them to be able to refinance. The refinance market will be very strong this year. Borrowers will be looking for cheaper rates, or answers to, how do I refinance and get equity out of my property? Those are going to be the two big key components this year."

Gair hints that bigger things are on the horizon for Rate Money, but was tight-lipped about the details. In the meantime, he said Rate Money is bolstering its leadership team, in search of a new chief financial officer. 

TLDR: Rate Money rate guide

Easy Dollar for Dollar Refinance option

• What it is: refinance solution that allows eligible borrowers to move from higher-price full doc and alt doc loans into full doc variable loan.
• Fine print: 
  • Eligibility is determined by repayment history, not taxable income.
  • A 0.20% variable interest rate increase since the RBA's last rate hike.
  • Rates starting at 5.81% p.a.  
  • Effective 13 February 2026. 
  • Rates valid for applications received 60 days from 13 February 2026.
• Borrower requirements: 
  • A 12-month track record of consistent borrowing
  • A "stable financial profile" with limited recent credit activity.
  • A credit score that meets the minimum requirement for the selected product. 

Easy Doc One-year Tax Return option

• What it is: lending option for self-employed borrowers who want to secure financing faster. Borrowers can use their most recent financial year tax returns, even if tax returns for that year have not yet been lodged. 
• Fine print: 
  • Allows use of a one-year tax return without a notice of assessment at the time of approval. 
  • Rates start at 5.99% p.a. 
  • A 0.15% variable interest rate increase since the RBA's last rate hike.
  • Effective 13 February 2026.
  • Rates valid for applications received 60 days from 13 February 2026.