Ubank's evolution hasn't gone unnoticed within the mortgage industry.
Earlier this year, the lender — which falls under the National Australia Bank (NAB) parent company — launched its mortgage broker platform 2.0. The updated system was designed to streamline the broker lodgement experience with faster service, more flexibility and a more user-friendly interface.
It's no surprise then that Ubank walked away with the "Fintech Lender Award" at this year's Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia's (MFAA) national conference and Excellence Award ceremony. The award cemented Ubank's place as a tech-driven leader in lending.
George Srbinovski, head of broker distribution at Ubank, (above center, holding the award), accepted the award on the bank's behalf.
Australian Broker caught up with Srbinovski on his thoughts on why Ubank continues to win big in the industry, how the bank is building on its evolution, what others can learn from the lender and his outlook for the future.
GS: Amazing. It's the fourth year in a row that we've won this award. And what we find to be the most special part of the award is that it's voted by brokers. So it's a real testament to the hard work that we do every single day to serve brokers and bring digital into the broker industry. Eighteen months ago, we spent a lot of time talking to brokers around how we can improve our process. And we delivered a new application, a new version of Simpology to the marketplace, which was bespoke for Ubank. And we brought in some great technology to help brokers lodge applications to Ubank a lot quicker than we've ever done before. That's definitely [why we won]. I think we wanted to have a wonderful working relationship with many brokers out there. And we've really pioneered and been at the forefront of digital within broker [distribution channels] for many, many years.
GS: The industry has been vital [to our success]: Brokers, aggregators and professional bodies like the MFAA. The entire ecosystem has been a wonderful support of Ubank since we came to the marketplace. It's absolutely fantastic.
GS: We have to be in it to win it, first and foremost. But also, set yourself apart by knowing what you want to try and achieve in the industry. Whether it's being the best broker, the best customer service, the best vendor, or the best fintech vendor. Really set your goals around what you're trying to do and you can have a wonderful journey trying to achieve that.
GS: That's an interesting one. At the moment, we're just focused on serving brokers and serving our customers every single day and doing the best that we possibly can to make sure that we provide wonderful customer service.
GS: It's definitely [going to be busier than last year]. We're really excited for the future as we continue to serve brokers every day.
