By securely integrating Open Banking into its property broker platform, REA Group achieved:
A 31% rise in unique broker engagement
A 25% increase in client outreach
14% growth in completed Financial Passports
Bringing secure financial data sharing to property transactions
REA Group is a global property tech leader providing innovative services that transform how properties are bought, sold, rented, managed and financed — empowering agents, brokers, property seekers and homeowners to connect with each other and transact efficiently.
Over the years, REA Group has tackled many of the biggest and most persistent challenges that lead to negative experiences in property transactions. However, until recently, there was one area that had eluded it: enabling secure financial data sharing between brokers and customers.
The introduction of Open Banking presented a unique opportunity to change that. Open Banking provides a secure, government-regulated framework for safe financial data sharing between customers and third parties. By adopting it, REA Group could significantly mitigate risks, reduce costs and redefine property broker and customer experiences.
Why did REA Group partner with Thoughtworks to adopt Open Banking?
Thoughtworks and REA Group have partnered for years to bring the property company’s innovative ideas to life. During this time, Thoughtworks developed deep expertise in REA’s financial services and systems. This trusted partnership ensured Thoughtworks could seamlessly deliver the complex Open Banking integration. When the opportunity arose, REA turned to Thoughtworks for support.
The Open Banking project also involved a third partner — Frollo. Frollo is Australia's leading Open Banking provider, and offers a proven widget for the integration of Open Banking into existing platforms, solutions and experiences.
How did Thoughtworks, Frollo, and REA Group collaborate to successfully enable Open Banking?
Our task during this project was to integrate Frollo’s Open Banking widget into REA Group’s broker platform. Executed correctly, this would enable brokers to securely request and access customer financial data, in a way that’s driven by customer consent.
Key challenges and solutions:
Challenge 1: Integrating the widget into REA Group’s Angular-based user interface.
Solution: Agile development approach ensured seamless integration and smooth user experiences.
Challenge 2: Maintaining high backend security standards.
Solution: Used .NET for streamlined backend operations and built secure, high-performance APIs.
What impact has Open Banking integration had on REA Group?
With Open Banking integrated into its broker platform, REA Group’s customers have complete control of their data through a consent dashboard, enabling them to securely share sensitive banking credentials as part of their property journey.
This has helped to significantly accelerate and modernize broker workflows, contributing to:
in unique broker engagement, reflecting greater adoption and satisfaction
in client outreach through expanded invitations
in completed Financial Passports, thanks to improved client-broker experiences
For brokers’ customers, that means:
Loan decisions are made much faster, accelerating property buying journeys
Opportunities for fraud and data loss are reduced, increasing peace of mind
Lengthy, manual processes are now fully automated, reducing errors and increasing trust between users
They retain complete control of their most sensitive financial data, and how it’s used
How will Open Banking integration support REA Group’s mission in the future?
This project marks another major step forward in REA Group’s mission to deliver exceptional property experiences and drive customer-centric innovation in its market.
By reducing reconciliation and processing time, Open Banking integration is already having a major impact on broker efficiency and conversions. Access to Open Banking data will also help boost REA Group’s decision-making capacity, enabling it to provide customers with decisions in minutes.
REA Group now plans to use its Open Banking data — with customer consent — to further personalize its offerings, enhance serviceability and enable near-instant loan decision-making.
