Ann: PEXA 3Q25 Update, page-5

Lextech has quit after six years of trying to take on PEXA as a property settlement platform, saying there was no appetite among lenders and conveyancers for a rival in the $300 million market, and the regulated monopoly should be seen as critical digital infrastructure

While some politicians, government agencies and property professionals might demand competition as a blanket rule, the economic viability of a second operator simply does not stack up,” Lextech chief executive Peter Maloney told The Australian Financial Review on Monday.The decision by Victorian-based Lextech, which processes $7 billion in mortgages a year, to withdraw after investing $10 million in its bid to become a settlement platform, poses the question of whether the $168 million raised by larger aspiring e-settlement platform Sympli is worth the investment for parents ASX Ltd and ATI Global.Sympli chief executive Philip Joyce said the company remained fully committed to rivalling PEXA.

The potential savings on the $137 buyers and sellers pay the heavily regulated PEXA in a property transfer would do little to repay the investment of at least $200 million another operator needed to set up an equivalent platform,

In March, the Australian Banking Association told a Senate committee that the interoperability push should be overhauled.

Maloney agreed. “We should be exploring the infrastructure model where there is an [operator], which is PEXA,” he said. “It is the backbone for electronic conveyancing and third-party firms are free to build value on top of that platform.”