Hai Money expands with Melbourne Harbour event

This article was produced in partnership with Hai Money

Scaling a business is one thing, but doing so while maintaining relationships, sustaining community and ensuring quality is another altogether.

Boutique aggregator Hai Money’s recent 2025 Melbourne Roadshow was an example of both a networking event and a clear signal of a business expanding with intention, heart, and strategic clarity. As the Sydney-based mortgage aggregator sets its sights beyond its home base, it is doing so not by chasing numbers, but by cultivating relationships, investing in smart technology, and creating environments where people and partnerships thrive.

Themed "Bridging Markets, Building Futures," Hai Money brought together more than 80 financial professionals at the elegant All Smiles Melbourne Waterfront venue to help mark a significant step in the company's expansion strategy.

"You can really feel the heart behind what Hai Money is doing. It's not just about numbers or growth—it's about people," said Paul Song, State Manager of NSW/ACT.

From fostering cross-industry collaboration to developing tools that support brokers with both efficiency and care, Hai Money is demonstrating that growth doesn’t have to come at the expense of personal connection or quality. Instead, the company is building the kind of foundation that doesn’t just scale — it strengthens.

Finance professionals set sail for growth beyond Sydney

The five-hour event on May 2 delivered on its promise of bringing together some of the brightest minds and most passionate professionals in finance and lending across Victoria.

"The event had such a warm, welcoming vibe, and it's clear that Hai Money is building something special for brokers," Song said.

Song's observation captured the essence of what made the confab distinctive—a focus on human connections alongside business growth. With the picturesque Melbourne harbour as backdrop, attendees engaged in substantive discussions about market opportunities while enjoying the venue's ambience.

Hai Money deliberately chose Melbourne for its major roadshow as part of a calculated expansion strategy taking the aggregator beyond its Sydney base.

"We are in the process of recruiting brokers nationwide, with plans to expand into the Northern region," said Bruce Li, head of growth and strategy at Hai Money.

From its first broker in January of 2024, Hai Money had reached 40 brokers by the end of a six-month soft launch phase in June. Following the June 7 official launch party on the Masteka II yacht, broker numbers grew at double the pace to reach almost 100 brokers at the end of 2024. As of May 2025, the firm had 149 brokers onboard.

Li emphasized that this growth wouldn't compromise the company's core values and that Hai Money aims to maintain service quality while extending its geographical reach.

The roadshow exemplified this balance, combining serious business discussions with harbourside hospitality. The networking continued into a lively after-party that began at 3pm, ensuring attendees went home with lasting memories and valuable connections.

Networking and partnership opportunities

The event also delivered on its promise to create a space for collaboration where financial professionals could connect with peers and potential partners.

"From the outset, the event looks very well organised and incredibly thorough with a lot of networking time for brokers and BDMs," said Andrew Oey, Victorian BDM at MA Money, which served as the roadshow's major sponsor.

Oey's company, a non-bank lender focused on flexible lending solutions, was just one of several organisations supporting the event. Additional sponsors included The Loan Club, Mortgage Ezy, Deposit Power, Uptain, Arc Money, ARCA Insurance, and Brighten.

A spokesperson from The Loan Club said they wanted to see more events hosted by Hai Money and praised its professionalism. One broker cited meeting new people and the opportunity to network with industry professionals as their favourite part of the event.

Beyond casual networking, the roadshow helped attendees to discover new partnership opportunities to grow their businesses. External brokers from various aggregators mixed with Hai Money affiliates, creating cross-organisational connections that might otherwise never have formed.

Industry support and key attendees

The Melbourne event highlighted the importance of industry connections in Hai Money's expansion strategy. Hai Money noted it was particularly grateful for the continued support of Simon Bednar, CEO of Finsure Group, who attended alongside several other notable industry figures.

The presence of industry body professionals from both the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) and Finance Brokers Association of Australasia (FBAA) underscored the event's significance within the broader financial services community. Noushig Megerditchian, Finsure’s head of sales for the Northern Region, was among those who travelled to show support for the aggregator's Victorian initiative.

Representatives from several partner organisations, including Secured Lending and Middle, presented their broker-focused solutions, giving attendees practical insights alongside networking opportunities.

Technology and future vision

While relationship-building took centre stage at the waterfront gathering, technological advancement featured prominently in Hai Money's vision presentation.

"Currently, we are working on developing broker tools using AI as we recognise it's an area with potential to streamline processes and improve efficiency - this will help remove the need for physical PAs, resulting in cost savings and a more agile work environment," said Li.

He showed a live demo of two technologies that will be released in the second half of this year:

• AI Credit: a system that acts as a credit policy library to find a loan solution quickly and efficiently. It’s designed to save brokers’ time, so they can spend more of it with clients.
• A Referral System: this is designed to help brokers grow their lead pool and strengthen referral partnerships. Considered a ‘game-changer’, the system allows broker businesses to handle lead distribution more efficiently and build flexible commission structures tailored to the nature of each lead. Li called it “a game-changer”.

Bednar rated the system highly: “I’ve been in IT for 25 years, and the innovation [Hai Money is] delivering is second to none.”

He touched on how his own experience with Finsure illustrates ow difficult moving from start-up to a larger scale can be: “As [Finsure] got bigger, we lost touch with our brokers… it’s hard to deliver a personal touch to everyone,” he said.

“[Hai Money] is a true sub-aggregator with a business model that provides that personal touch - that family orientation and the ability to connect with small business owners that the larger groups just can’t do.”

While Hai Money has access to Finsure resources, the culture is 100% Hai Money.

“It’s the Hai Money experience you’re getting… When you look around the industry, there are very little businesses like Hai Money that exist,” said Bednar.

Brokers also highly rate the tech benefits of working with the firm, with one broker citing Infynity, a Finsure-integrated system, as being instrumental in helping to gather client data and prepare bank applications.

This practical approach to technology adoption reflects Hai Money's broader business strategy—making targeted investments that deliver measurable benefits to its broker network, which includes comprehensive services like training and development, compliance support, and administrative assistance.

As Hai Money surpasses the milestone of 150 brokers nationwide, its Melbourne Roadshow 2025 served as both a celebration of progress and a statement of intent for the company's future direction.

"We aim to continue to deliver quality service and support to brokers, staying true to our value proposition," Li said.

The company's expansion plans come during a period when many financial services organisations are consolidating or retrenching. By contrast, Hai Money remains committed to geographical growth while simultaneously developing technological capabilities.

This combination—expanding physically while enhancing digital offerings—suggests a company looking to create competitive advantage through both personal connections and process efficiency. The Melbourne Harbour Roadshow 2025 demonstrated that balancing these elements remains central to Hai Money's strategy as it builds beyond its Sydney foundations.

Hai Money, derived from the concept of the 'Money Sea', is a sub-aggregator of Finsure. Hai Money puts brokers at the centre of focus, aiming to provide support in various ways to ensure no one is left behind in this ever-changing market. Its mission is to ‘set you up, build your brand, and sail you to success’. Hai Money recognises the value and potential that brokers hold, meaning that they won’t get treated like a mere number among thousands as part of the aggregator experience.