5 questions lenders should ask their tech partners

Following our Australian Lending Technology 2026 research, we explored what separates strategic partnerships from transactional vendor relationships.

Our recent research found that strategic partnerships are replacing build-everything approaches across Australian lending. But what does a true strategic partnership actually look like?

We surveyed 130+ lending professionals and interviewed senior executives to understand what lenders need from technology partners. The answer isn’t just about features or pricing – it’s about alignment, adaptability, and genuine collaboration.

Here are five questions every lender should ask when evaluating technology partners.

Question 1: How quickly can you adapt to regulatory changes?

Regulatory requirements don’t wait for product roadmaps. When new compliance standards emerge or existing regulations shift, lenders need partners who can respond in days or weeks – not quarters.

Look for evidence of past responsiveness. How did they handle previous regulatory changes? Do they have dedicated compliance teams? Can they provide examples of rapid adaptation?

What this reveals: Whether the partner views regulatory compliance as a burden or a competitive advantage.

Question 2: What does co-innovation look like in practice?

Many vendors claim to co-innovate. Few actually do.

Ask for specific examples: Which features came directly from customer feedback? How do they prioritise customer requests? What’s their process for testing new capabilities with customers before general release?

The best partnerships are built on genuine collaboration and shared commitment to customer outcomes – where your operational challenges inform their product roadmap, and some of the greatest solutions emerge from this collaborative approach rather than building in isolation.

What this reveals: Whether you’ll influence their direction or just consume what they build.

Question 3: What’s your track record on uptime and reliability?

Technology doesn’t matter if it fails at critical moments – settlement deadlines, peak application periods, end-of-month processing.

Ask for specific SLA commitments and historical performance data. What happens when things go wrong? How do they communicate during incidents? What’s their disaster recovery process?

What this reveals: Whether they understand that reliability isn’t optional in lending operations.

Question 4: How is your roadmap informed by industry trends?

Your partner should understand the unique pressures lenders face and be as immersed in lending industry developments as you are. Open Banking adoption. AI deployment strategies. Evolving broker channel dynamics.

Ask what research they conduct, which industry events they attend, how they stay ahead of trends. They need to demonstrate agility to adapt as market conditions evolve – not just respond to where the industry has been, but anticipate where it’s heading.

What this reveals: Whether they’re building for tomorrow’s challenges or yesterday’s problems.

Question 5: How do you measure partnership success?

If they only talk about license revenue or user adoption, that’s a red flag.

Strategic partners measure mutual success: your operational outcomes, your competitive wins, your team’s satisfaction. They should know your business KPIs and help you achieve them.

What this reveals: Whether they view you as a customer or a partner.

Our research found that lenders who choose strategic partners over transactional vendors gain three critical advantages: faster time-to-market, reduced integration complexity, and the ability to focus internal resources on differentiation rather than infrastructure maintenance.

Strategic partnerships enable co-innovation that delivers competitive advantage. It’s a two-way street – genuine collaboration where both parties are recognised as trusted partners working in open collaboration toward shared outcomes.

The right questions reveal whether a potential partner understands your business, shares your values, and can genuinely support your goals.

Watch Tony Carn discuss strategic partnerships and industry insights in our latest Knowledge Series episode, then download our Australian Lending Technology 2026 whitepaper for the full research.