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The non-major bank is harnessing MSA National technology to transform its settlement process with near-instant loan document issuance and real-time tracking.
ING Australia has confirmed that it has partnered with legal services provider MSA National to accelerate the bank’s settlement process.
The bank – which had been previously using law firm Dentons for its legal settlement services – moved to MSA National to automate and digitise the settlement process for residential and commercial mortgages on 30 April.
MSA National – one of the first legal firms to pioneer digital signatures for mortgage documentation (via DigiDocs) – provides a range of software solutions to digitise the legal steps in settling a home loan via a single point of contact.
This includes providing a collaborative online environment for real-time loan tracking via the LoanTrak platform for brokers (called OnTrak for customers) and delivering documents “within seconds” of loan approval. Brokers can also utilise the MyVideo technology - to explain the settlement process to customers via video.
Speaking of the move, Sergio Delvescovo, ING Australia’s national sales manager for brokers, told The Adviser: “We’re continuously trying to make processes easier, faster and seamless for brokers and customers.
“By working with MSA National, we can dramatically improve the settlements process. With almost-instant loan document issuance, real-time tracking, direct access to dedicated legal support and streamlined digital workflows, all resulting in a better experience for brokers and their customers.
“This partnership is also about enhanced visibility and efficiency with customers receiving updates every step of the way with auto updates at key milestones (e.g. docs sent, returned, settlement booked etc.).”
MSA National's CEO and managing director, Sam Makhoul, commented: "We're very excited to partner with ING in this long-term, exclusive partnership. We can achieve so much more with lenders, who go exclusive with us as, together, we can really set the benchmark in the industry."
According to Makhoul, the partnership will accelerate the turnaround time to settlement, which he said was a key issue for brokers. MSA National states that documents can be issued within 90 seconds, whereas it was previously taking one to two days.
"Our automation for document preparation is a game changer for ING and for brokers," he told The Adviser.
"And as we have case-ownership model with brokers, each broker has a single point of contact at MSA, so every communication that goes to the customer has the broker copied in. That communication contains a direct email and a direct phone number of the settlement coordinator that's taking the file to settlement, so the broker knows who to contact. Many brokers will already know the settlement coordinators and know our operating model really well. So ING will be able to leverage that relationship that we already have with brokers," he said.
Makhoul added: "Culturally, [ING Australia and MSA National] are very aligned... they are extremely humble. They're competent, but casual about it, and we're similar to that, as well.
"They have growth aspirations, and we want to help them on that journey. So we feel honoured that they've chosen us to partner with them for that growth."
ING is the latest lender to work with MSA National for its settlement service solutions, with AMP Bank having partnered with the legal firm last year. AMP Bank is currently running a pilot of its new end-to-end loan origination platform (developed in partnership with Simpology and MSA National) with brokers, in the expectation that the new broker platform will be fully released later this year.
Other lenders currently using MSA National for settlement services include Westpac, NAB, Macquarie Bank, Auswide and MyState Bank, among others.
Indeed, Australian lenders are on the verge of a major technological transformation in loan processes, with many investing heavily in new systems and processes.
According to a recent report commissioned by technology solution provider NextGen, generative AI and quantum computing are accelerating this next wave of digitisation in retail banking.
Despite past challenges with integrating new technologies, the Second generation technology: Banking on the next transformation report outlines that integrating software as a service and harnessing APIs has provided emerging opportunities for lenders to improve services across various channels, including applications and verification, while reducing processing times.
You can find out more about how the mortgage broking industry has been innovating and digitising in the April 2025 edition of The Adviser magazine, Totally tech, here.
[Related: Lenders increasingly leaning on tech to strengthen loan applications]
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