Joust, a start-up platform aimed at bypassing the complexity of the home loan market by directly matching potential borrowers with mortgage providers, is to seek equity funding via the crowdfunding platform OnMarket. One attraction of Joust claimed by promoters is that hopeful borrowers can view the lenders 'joust' - that is, compete by providing their best interest rate - in real time.  Co-founded in 2015 by former bankers Mark Bevan, Richard Hockney and Greg Abel, Joust's stated aim is "to disrupt the $2 billion in commissions earned by the mortgage broker industry each year by connecting home loan customers directly with up to 20+ lenders."The start-up was off to a flyer, generating A$100 million in referrals in its first month of operation, after being launched in Adelaide on 1 June 2016. Since then it has become a big hit with mutuals in particular, with People's Choice Credit Union, IMB Bank, Victoria Teachers Mutual Bank among the early band of customer-owned mortgage providers on the Joust platform. The platform generated a reported $990 million in loan opportunities by April 2018, according to Business Insider.  The business model, relying purely on price, has not been without its share of controversy, as it requires lenders to accept "advice-free" differential pricing, and undercut their own first and third-party mortgage origination and distribution channels. "Lenders benefit from increased customer engagement and improved margins through less reliance on brokers," Joust said in its OnMarket pitch to investors.  The crowdfunded equity offer is still at pre-registration stage.