Mortgage comparison site iSelect has developed a new digital home loan application process which allows buyers to secure conditional approval for a mortgage in three hours.
Currently in its trial phase, the platform allows an individual to receive approval without going to the bank or meeting face-to-face with a broker. It can be used anytime and is performed either online or over the phone.
The platform was developed to streamline what is often seen as an incredibly arduous process, said Scott Wilson, iSelect’s CEO.
“There have been considerable advances in recent years in the streamlining and digitising of financial services such as opening bank accounts, managing stock portfolios and filing tax returns yet acquiring conditional approval for a home loan is secured in a similar fashion to how it might have been done decades ago.”
While applying for a home loan needs to be a thorough process, there is plenty of room to streamline the experience while remaining compliant and responsible, Wilson said.
Macquarie Bank, IMG and
Australian Finance Group have trialled this development for the past three months with iSelect expecting to conduct a full rollout next year. Around 50% of all conditional approvals for the three lenders have been completed via this digital pathway – equating to over 20% of all iSelect home loan applications
Alan Caputo, financial services group executive at iSelect, talked
Australian Broker through the security processes put in place to prevent risks such as identity theft in this more modern, digital approach.
“We utilise the likes of verbal signatures and ZipID where a customer in the privacy of their own home or the workplace can get somebody to come along, verify their ID and do all the checks and balances that they need to do.”
The verification of income is a similar manner, he said, where financials are received upfront so iSelect can process the recommendation for the conditional approval.
iSelect presently has around 21 fully qualified brokers on staff and plans to expand this to about 25 in the next week or so, Caputo said.
“We’re ramping up quite rapidly. It’s an exciting time for our business. We’re getting more and more customers wanting to actually come and talk to us about what a home loan can look like – and again doing this in their own time.”
Brokers would “absolutely” embrace the digital process in time, especially because of the many hurdles involved in loan applications, Caputo told
Australian Broker. The only real obstacle to this evolution is removing the more traditional methods of loan application and approval before shifting into the new digital world.
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