By Joman Kwong, Strategic Solutions Manager, Financial Services, at Laserfiche
If the mortgage process wasn’t already complex enough, the current state of the UK economy is adding even more fuel to the fire. First-time buyers are likely to spend over one-third of their pay on mortgage payments. And with advanced technologies becoming increasingly accessible and integrated into consumers’ lives, people have little patience for outdated technology and unnecessarily disjointed processes. In fact, 64% of consumers are now more likely to choose fintechs over traditional banks.
Yet, digital transformation in the mortgage industry remains a challenge. Leaders are likelier to stick with tried-and-trusted processes, particularly when sensitive information is at stake. The mortgage industry is also an archaic one, with loans first offered in the UK around the 12th century. But now, 21st century technology is set to bring this historic industry into the present, making legacy processes and tenuous paperwork a thing of the past.
By utilising the vast array of digital tools on offer, mortgage providers can refresh their systems and processes to provide a better, more streamlined customer experience. Lenders can expedite mortgage processes when every decision is backed by precise data collection and analysis, and systems are in place to organise, access and manage customer information.
Utilising AI to free up time for human employees
Many financial institutions have already started to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into their systems and processes to great effect. AI makes it easier than ever before to streamline capturing and classifying data to make content searchable from one centralised, organised place. Employees no longer need to trawl through documents manually but can rely on AI to source documents by using keywords, metadata, annotations, file names and more.
Employees take back valuable time when they are no longer bogged down with manual tasks; for example, filling out and filing documents can now be automated. The result is more time, headspace, and energy to provide personalised customer service. Tools such as AI-powered chatbots are also becoming increasingly popular as an in-app banking feature, providing customers with 360 support anytime, anywhere. Chatbots can also facilitate more personalised, guided experiences when customers are reviewing forms or searching through websites, ensuring that they feel supported every step of the way.
The role of hyperautomation in breaking down siloes
Many mortgage lenders and financial institutions have already invested in automation but currently utilise single-point solutions that are earmarked for specific tasks. The result can be disjointed end processes, resulting in slower services for end users. Hyperautomation, therefore, can play a fundamental role in improving the total experience within financial institutions. End-to-end solutions make it easy to automate manual tasks and expedite data entry and approval routing. Leaders are no longer hampered by siloed data and unstructured data sets, which can lead to issues such as multiple versions of pieces of digital content with no ability to track them.
Hyperautomation reduces the likelihood of important documentation – such as sales contracts and datasheets – getting lost in the ‘digital noise’. It brings together business processes across different applications and departments to ensure better useability for employees and customers alike.
In the mortgage sector, hyperautomation tools can also make it possible to fill the gaps between mortgage origination and other business applications, expediting underwriting and mortgage review workflows. For example, by deploying a process orchestration engine, a mortgage lender could provide an accessible interface where customers or brokers could easily submit a mortgage application with all the supporting documents. After the first round of interviews, the provider could then route data into the core banking software and loan origination system for processing, eliminating any duplicate or manual data entries. Feeding data directly to the core banking software in this way also provides employees quick and easy access to customers’ personal information, all via one single interface. Hyperautomation will drive improved visibility across every process, speeding up operations and driving better CX as a result.
Streamlined customer experiences stem from connected processes
When customers are looking to obtain a mortgage, they are still faced with many time-consuming manual tasks such as document collection and income verification. Customers understandably become frustrated with disjointed verification processes, where they are asked to input the same security information multiple times. Fragmented processes occur due to a lack of data integration. Organisations can avoid the risks associated with data being stored in multiple places when every system and process is connected. Connecting every system and process also encourages customer loyalty and satisfaction because applications work efficiently, intuitively and with the click of a button.
So, what does this look like in practice? Mortgage providers can create a ‘single source of truth’ by bringing together loan origination systems with core banking software, so that mortgage specialists can access real-time information without needing to jump between applications. From augmenting credit checks to speeding up underwriting procedures to streamlined review and approval processes, the opportunities for transformation are endless.
Looking towards the future of the mortgage sector
We’ve seen how AI-empowered tools can help customer service representatives quickly retrieve a document or copy of a signature directly from a cloud-based system. As operations within the sector digitally transform, the benefits will be felt by all stakeholders, from employees to customers to shareholders. Process automation tools are already helping innovative financial institutions enhance the customer experience as they integrate unparalleled levels of connectivity into their offerings.
A process as complex as securing a mortgage will never be hurdle-free, but introducing digital tools will help make the journey towards attaining a mortgage significantly smoother. And it’s not just customers that will benefit. A well-equipped workforce that has easy access to systems that organise and manage data can provide a more efficient service, boosting both productivity and customer satisfaction. The time to invest in tools that will help supercharge how you provide your financial offerings is now. The business benefits will be felt for years to come.
