Platform Finance is an Australian asset finance aggregator and processing group built for brokers. Backed by ASX-listed COG Financial Services, it gives mortgage brokers a panel of more than 60 asset finance lenders, a quoting and lodgement system called Platform Plus, and optional full loan processing so you can write car and equipment finance without building your own asset finance operation.
This article explains what the group actually does, how its aggregation and processing models differ, and what to check before you sign an agreement.
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What Is Platform Finance?
Platform Finance is a Queensland-based aggregation group that specialises in consumer and commercial asset finance rather than home lending. The company states it has operated for more than 25 years and describes itself as one of Australia’s few listed asset finance aggregators through its parent, COG Financial Services. Its broker-facing pitch sits on three services: lender aggregation, loan processing and software.
How Platform Finance Supports Mortgage Brokers
The core idea is diversification: a residential book already holds car, ute and equipment conversations, so writing that business through an asset finance specialist captures income a home-loan-only model leaves behind. How much of the work you hand over is your choice.
Aggregation and Processing Services
Aggregation gives you one accreditation path to the panel instead of individual lender accreditations, plus commission flows through the group. Processing runs on a spectrum: you can lodge and manage files yourself, hand complete files to the Platform processing team from application through to settlement, or use something in between. Full processing suits brokers who want asset finance as a side channel; direct lodgement suits those who want control and a higher margin.
The practical trade-off is margin against time. Delegated processing reduces your per-deal revenue but removes data entry, lender follow-up and paperwork, which frees hours for client relationships and referral work.
Training and Development Opportunities
Onboarding covers asset finance basics such as reading a commercial quote, structuring a chattel mortgage against a lease, and understanding GST treatment, alongside compliance support for both credit representatives and licence holders. Marketing material also cites CAFBA Aggregator of the Year awards in 2020, 2022 and 2023; treat awards and any broker-count claims as the company’s own record rather than an independent measure, and judge the service on your own first deals.
Technology and Software Solutions
Platform Plus is the group’s custom quoting and lodgement system. It produces multi-lender asset finance quotes from one input set and tracks applications through to payout. It handles deal workflow rather than being a full customer relationship management database, so most brokers keep their existing CRM for nurture campaigns and use Platform Plus for the lending pipeline. If you prefer to lodge yourself, the system supports that too, including where a file moves into loan processing with a lender directly.
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Types of Finance You Can Write Through the Panel
Asset Finance
Asset finance is the centre of the offer: cars, utes, trucks, machinery and equipment for consumers and businesses. Product types across the panel include chattel mortgages, finance leases, operating leases, commercial hire purchases, rentals and consumer loans, along with leisure finance for boats, motorcycles and caravans.
Commercial Finance
Commercial needs sit on the same panel, from equipment purchases for trades and primary producers to business loans and small-ticket items such as computers and fit-outs. Because structures and accounting treatment vary, commercial files usually need the client’s accountant involved early; a good test of any aggregator is how well its BDMs help you navigate that.
Personal Finance
personal loans, including unsecured consumer lending, are available through panel lenders. This rounds out consumer conversations beyond secured vehicle finance, though responsible-lending obligations apply to these files exactly as they do elsewhere.
SME Finance Solutions
Small-business lending extends the commercial shelf, with partnerships bringing products such as lines of credit onto the panel. Availability shifts as partner agreements change, so confirm which SME products are currently live before promising them to a client.
Compliance and Risk Support
The group provides compliance assistance for brokers operating as credit representatives or under their own licence, covering obligations that attach when you introduce asset finance. That said, credit assessment stays your responsibility on every file: check servicing, security and purpose yourself rather than treating a platform’s tools as a substitute for your own risk assessment. Responsible-lending duties do not transfer to the aggregator.
Checks Before You Partner
- Licensing and commission terms: get the agreement in writing, including commission splits when you use full processing versus lodging direct.
- Current panel reality: lender lists, panel counts and product availability change, so confirm the lenders you actually need are accredited today.
- Processing turnaround: ask for typical turnaround times on a consumer car loan and a commercial equipment deal, then test with one real file before shifting volume.
Published Case studies and award citations describe best-case outcomes. Run your own numbers instead: track settlement rate, turnaround and effective hourly return across your first handful of asset deals before deciding whether the channel earns a permanent place in your week.
Conclusion
Platform Finance is a COG-backed asset finance aggregator that lets residential brokers add vehicle and equipment lending through one accreditation, the Platform Plus system and optional full processing. It suits brokers who want asset finance income without staffing a specialist desk.
This month, count the asset finance opportunities your residential book generated anyway. If clients are asking about cars and equipment more than occasionally, request the Platform agreement and commission schedule, then run one processed file and one direct lodgement so you can compare the two models on real numbers.
