Login
ISCOVER
The digital bank has responded to user feedback to improve its mortgage broker platform, with a new portal set to launch next week.
ubank has revealed it has rebuilt its mortgage broker platform in a bid to simplify the digital home loan lodgement process and deliver a better online experience for brokers and their customers.
To continue reading the rest of this article, please log in.
Looking for more benefits? Become a Premium Member.
Create free account to get unlimited news articles and more!
Looking for more benefits? Become a Premium Member.
The new broker platform will go live on 3 March, with brokers being able to access webinars, training sessions, and online tutorials to learn about the new features.
The NAB-owned digital lender described the platform as the “cornerstone of ubank’s broker strategy” and said it had listened to brokers to improve the lodgement experience.
Speaking to The Adviser, ubank’s head of broker distribution, George Srbinovski, said it was focused on removing pain points from the lodgement process.
“We started talking to brokers, back office staff and their support staff about what an ideal origination or lodgement platform would look like,” he said.
“What’s missing and what can we improve on? What’s great about what we do and what isn’t so good?”
A recurring issue brokers flagged was their reliance on bank statements for compliance, documentation requirements, and information gathering linked to clients.
In response, the platform’s broker flow tool aims to eliminate repetitive data verification tasks by allowing brokers to use illion BankStatements technology to collect customer data.
The customer pre-submission process has also been streamlined with a single email touchpoint within the platform for customer tasks.
“Within one email, we do verification of identity, privacy, consent. So that’s gone from multiple touch points back to the customer down to one,” Srbinovski said, adding that it had cut the time and hassle linked to admin for brokers and clients.
Additionally, the platform helps brokers verify customer income via smart statements, reducing the paperwork required to lodge a home loan application by quickly and securely retrieving client income from their bank.
Srbinovski said that ubank had also changed its verification of identity and privacy consent process. Customers now only receive one communication to complete their compliance tasks, allowing brokers to work simultaneously to complete the remaining pieces of the application.
The new platform also has automation built into its application review process, a tool used by the bank to better understand its customers and deliver faster credit decisions.
Live status updates also help brokers keep track of their customer’s applications.
Monique Henderson, a mortgage broker at AAA Financial Group, was involved in the pilot test phase of the new platform. She described how the tech’s biggest pain points have been reversed.
“There were three touch points. Now it’s one. It’s the smart statements. For our compliance, we need bank statements on file. Now we can request them up front when we do our assessment,” Henderson said.
Usability has also been improved, Henderson said, describing how a colleague at AAA Financial Group was able to submit a mortgage application in under 20 minutes using the new platform.
“It’ll take you exactly to the point in the application that needs to be addressed so you cannot miss it. It’s much more streamlined. It’s a much work smarter, not harder approach,” Henderson said.
ubank leaves door open to future AI tech
Despite a significant technology investment in rebuilding the platform, ubank chose to not fully lean on AI, unlike other recently launched home loan technology.
While the new platform does not use AI or machine learning within the origination platform, Srbinovski did not rule out moving into the space in the future.
He said: “It’s an ever-changing and evolving environment with AI, but for now we’re super excited with the technology advancements that we have.”
Commenting on future changes in response to more broker feedback, Srbinovski said that the lender would continue responding to how users viewed the platform.
“It’s ever-evolving and with feedback we continue to tweak our process around serving our brokers,” Srbinovski said.
[Related: LoanOptions.ai launches home loan tech]
JOIN THE DISCUSSION