How Athena Home Loans protects its business and its customers with Checkmate

The Customer

Founded in 2019, Athena Home Loans is an Australian fintech lender on a mission to help Australians own their homes sooner. Customers refinance or purchase property through Athena directly, either through their broker or via a fully digital application journey through to settlement. It's a business built entirely on trust, and that trust has to be protected at every level of the organisation.

The Challenge

In financial services, the wrong hire isn't just an HR problem, it's a business risk. 

For a fast-moving fintech like Athena Home Loans (Athena), the expectations are even higher. Customers trust Athena with their most significant financial commitment, and that trust extends to every person working behind the scenes to make it happen. 

Remonda Gabriel, People & Talent Manager at Athena Home Loans, puts it plainly:

"We hire people across finance, risk, engineering, cyber, and operations, and a lot of these people have access to sensitive customer data and our financial systems. We can't afford to take shortcuts, so our background screening processes need to be airtight."

For years, Athena had been using a background screening platform that no longer aligned with the scale and pace of the business. As their hiring needs evolved, they needed greater visibility, automation, responsiveness and confidence in the process.

When Remonda came across Checkmate, she went straight to her leadership team. There was a better option, and she was determined to explore it.

The Solution

After a single demo, Remonda knew Checkmate was the right call. She built the business case, got the leadership team and cybersecurity team on board, and made the switch. 

"Checkmate has completely transformed our screening process. The dashboard, the automated checks, the phenomenal customer support. It's chalk and cheese compared to what we had before", Remonda says. 

Here's what changed when Athena made the switch:

• One platform, every check: Credit, reference, employment verification, police, visa, financial regulatory, directorship, and anti-money laundering checks, all consolidated into a single, intuitive form for candidates.
• Automated and pre-configured: Checkmate set up a custom automated workflow for Athena, so the right checks are triggered instantly for every new hire with a single click. For senior or board-level roles, additional checks can be layered on just as easily.  
• Real-time visibility: A colour-coded dashboard shows exactly where every candidate is at, at a glance. No more clicking into individual profiles to find out where things stand.
• Proactive support that keeps things moving: Checkmate's team follows up directly with candidates and employers when checks need chasing, with urgent requests turned around within the hour.

"Previously I’d have to go in and manually select every background check I needed for each candidate, and I have missed certain checks because of that. Now I just pick the one we've pre-saved and it captures all the checks for me. I don't even think twice about it”, Remonda explains. 

No more manual selection. No more missed checks. Just: select, send, done.

The Results

Since making the switch to Checkmate, Athena's background screening runs with the consistency and speed their business demands. Around 90% of candidate checks complete without any intervention needed, and for the cases that do require follow-up, such as international checks or anything flagged as urgent, Checkmate's team manages the process proactively, keeping start dates on track and hiring managers informed throughout.

For Remonda, the shift in support turnaround times has been one of the most tangible changes since switching to Checkmate.

"With our previous platform, I used to have to wait two to three days for an update, even if I marked something as super urgent. Now I send a message and I get a response back from Checkmate immediately or within the hour. That's not something I ever expected." 

Supporting smarter, safer hiring

Today, Checkmate is an essential part of the recruitment process at Athena Home Loans, supporting a best-in-class experience for both candidates and the internal team. Remonda now actively recommends Checkmate to peers across the industry, because in a sector where trust is everything, the tools you use to protect it matter. 

"I'm really proud to have championed Checkmate for our business. Our feedback is heard, the platform keeps getting better, and it's clear Checkmate genuinely cares about making a difference, not just for their customers, but for the industry as a whole. That's the kind of partner you want in your corner." 

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