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The non-bank lender has announced two new solicitor partnerships so brokers can originate home loans without needing to meet clients in person amid COVID-19 restrictions.
Resimac has entered into new panel solicitor partnerships with mortgage documentation and settlements services provider MSA National and mortgage software provider First Mortgage Services (FMS) to enable remote verification of identity (VOI) of borrowers in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic social distancing measures.
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The lender has approved the use of MSA National’s IDYou app, enabling remote VOI.
It also authorised the use of digital signatures and said it is fine-tuning the implementation of a digital document delivery system.
Resimac general manager distribution Daniel Carde said the partnerships aim to allow brokers to carry on “business as usual”, despite the coronavirus movement restrictions and limitations.
“The change means a customer can now discuss their borrowing needs with a broker via phone, Skype or Zoom,” Mr Carde said.
“The broker then completes their verification of identity remotely using the IDYou app and submits the loan for assessment in the normal manner.”
Mr Carde added that through the partnerships, Resimac is finalising a digital loan document solution, through which a broker can email the loan document pack directly to the borrower, ready for digital execution and return.
“Essentially, this is completely paperless, and includes the ability to upload property insurance and other related documents required for settlement,” he said.
The partnership also provides brokers with real time status updates to track applications.
MSA national director Sam Makhoul said the business partnership would support Resimac’s growth.
“We both have a similar vision to leverage digital solutions to transform the customer experience by doing away with paper, delays and unnecessary expense,” Mr Makhoul said.
“But we are both also committed to providing customers and brokers with an actual person to talk throughout the loan settlement process,” he said.
FMS general manager sales and relationships Chris Evans said his firm would draw upon its local and international experience to “deliver paperless digital mortgage experiences to its customers”.
Various other lenders recently announced changes to their home loan policies to adapt to the social distancing rules amid the coronavirus pandemic and to avoid clients having to meet anyone face-to-face to complete verification of identity process.
Trail payments to brokers
Resimac has also announced that it would support brokers by continuing to pay trail payments on those loans where a borrower has received approval for a repayment holiday due to the coronavirus pandemic.
It joins other lenders who have also recently announced that they would pay trail to brokers on loans with paused payments.
The non-bank lender said it has simplified the application process for borrowers seeking a payment moratorium due to financial hardship and doubled the size of the team handling hardship applications. It has also launched an online hardship application form, allowing clients to avoid phone line queues.
“These changes will also take pressure off brokers who are usually the first point of contact when a borrower experiences financial hardship and is seeking advice from their trusted adviser,” Mr Carde said.
“Brokers are our small-business customers, and we believe in assisting customers when it becomes increasingly difficult for them to conduct normal business activities.”
AFG introduces remote VOI solution
Aggregator AFG has also announced that it has implemented MSA National’s IDYou solution to allow brokers and their clients to proceed with loan applications and still ensure the VOI is completed within the appropriate guidelines.
As of 1 April, AFG has enabled the use and acceptance of MSA National’s IDYou VOI mobile app for both in-person and remote verification of a customer’s identity.
AFG head of sales and distribution Chris Slater said the move is in accordance with the new guidelines recently released by the Australian Registrars’ National Electronic Conveyancing Council (ARNECC) to meet social distancing requirements.
In light of the new social distancing rules announced by the federal government in March to contract the spread of the coronavirus, ARNECC released a statement which states that while the VOI standard “requires a face-to-face in person interview, compliance with the [VOI] standard is not mandatory… a subscriber can verify the identity of their client or customer in a way that constitutes reasonable steps… For example, in the current COVID-19 environment, subscribers might like to consider using video technology as part of the verification of identity process”.
“IDyou will be used by our brokers in conjunction with individual lender interview and VOI requirements,” Mr Slater said.
“To support brokers and their customers during this time, IDyou have waived their normal usage fee during the month of April for AFG brokers.”
MSA National CEO Ayhan Baba said they are excited to support AFG’s growth and committed to supporting brokers during the coronavirus outbreak restrictions around social distancing.
“For AFG, it has meant an update to our policies to enable VOI requirements to be completed by the broker and their clients through IDYou in this uncertain time,” Mr Baba said.
[Related: NextGen.Net launches digital document verification]
