Mario Rehayem on how Pepper Money supports brokers
Pepper Money gets 97% of its business from mortgage brokers – so making sure brokers thrive is vital to its business.
Pepper Money CEO Mario Rehayem (pictured above) recently chatted with MPA about how the non-bank is strengthening its relationship with brokers.
“We’ve been backing the broker channel now for 21 years,” Rehayem said. “And those that know me, I used to be a mortgage broker myself, and I do sympathise with mortgage brokers and understand their pain points. And hence the reason why we invest so much time in better adjusting our processes, our products, the way that we communicate our products, and everything that they tell us that needs to be adjusted or rectified or changed to better suit their atmosphere and environment.”
Rehayem said that evolution is a constant at Pepper Money.
“We are on the front foot constantly changing – we’re constantly improving and making sure we are delivering a seamless and transparent offering to both the broker and the customer,” he said.
He also stressed that Pepper Money would never contact a broker-introduced customer unless the broker specifically asked.
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“We respect the channel that has referred that customer to us, and you will not get any channel conflict coming from the Pepper stable,” he said. “We honour and we respect that relationship that the broker has with their customer, and we never interfere with that unless the brokers engage with us and ask us to. That’s something that brokes have really given us a high-five on in this area, because they know their customers are safe with us.”
Rehayem said Pepper also continued to support borrowers after settlement.
“Whether it be digital statements, whether it be all the things they require in a fast turnaround time on phone calls, everything that they require on that post-settlement service actually then makes a really good reflection onto the broker,” he said. “Because, remember – brokers have recommended Pepper or other lenders to that customer, and brokers should be very wary about how those customers are being treated post-settlement, because it’s a reflection on their recommendation. So that’s why we take it very seriously.”
