Tech that's changing the way you write mortgages

LOAN FLARE
Founded: 2016
Who pays: Brokers, through a monthly subscription 
Training available: Helpdesk, chatbots and product ideas portal

What is new about what you do?
David Kim, founder: LoanFlare is a platform allowing brokers and their customers to work on the mortgage applications documents together – the fi rst software to connect brokers and their clients. Some of our exclusive features include a customisable, multistage fact-fi nd, real-time serviceability calculations, as well as automatic identification and renaming of supporting documents.

“We aim to turn brokers from a one-time sale into financial concierges for life”

How do you help mortgage brokers?
DK: LoanFlare arms brokers with the technology they need to remain competitive, allowing them to manage and track home loan applications completely online and export all the data to aggregator CRMs and ApplyOnline. We’re working on a loan tracker tool that taps into bank feeds to trigger broker alerts, and a marketplace for cross-selling products.

How do you help mortgage customers?
DK: We make the application process fun and informative through a contextual chatbot and by updating serviceability metrics every time information is added. We then use this information to recommend related products and services to borrowers, unlocking significant revenue streams for the broker. By capturing borrowers into a digital ecosystem that persists even after loan settlement, we aim to turn brokers from a one-time sale into fi nancial concierges for life.

BREEZEDOCS
Founded: 2012
Who pays: The user, which could be lenders or brokers
Training available: Little training required; demonstration videos available

What is new about what you do?
Hany Pham, CEO: Breezedocs provides groundbreaking new technology which automatically splits and organises borrower supporting documents in loan applications. This provides lenders with consistency and uniformity across all incoming loan applications, which increases the speed and reduces the cost of loan assessments and approvals. Breezedocs was also the first company to use software to automatically redact tax fi le numbers, and is currently the leading solution in the market.

How do you help mortgage brokers?
HP: Lenders are increasingly pushing more and more of the workload onto mortgage brokers … for example, many lenders are now requesting that brokers individually split up each document before submitting the loan. This means that brokers need to either scan files individually or use software such as Adobe Acrobat to manually split up each fi le. Breezedocs automates this process as it is able to recognise the textual content of each document and accurately splits up and relabels each attachment. 

How do you help mortgage customers?
HP: Within our existing lender partners, we have seen savings in loan processing time and cost of up to 75%. They have also been able to achieve consistent turnaround times within hours on the same day. This greatly benefits mortgage customers as turnaround times continue to be a pressing issue for the industry. Borrowers want rapid responses from lenders, and Breezedocs is able to dramatically reduce turnaround times, which significantly improves the borrower experience.

PEXA
Founded: 2010
Who pays: Depends on arrangement customer has with lenders/lawyers/conveyancers
Training available: Free PEXA Direct training for lawyers and conveyancers

What is new about what you do?
Mike Cameron, group executive operations: The PEXA e-Conveyancing network operates like a private virtual space, bringing banks, conveyancers and land registries together to securely settle property transactions. With PEXA operating in fi ve Australian states, electronic property settlement is now within reach of about 95% of Australians. Importantly, the Victorian, NSW and WA governments have unveiled deadlines to ‘turn off ’ certain paper-based property transactions in 2017, while the NSW government plans to phase out paper transactions by 2019.

How do you help mortgage brokers?
MC: PEXA ultimately is a breakthrough for end property consumers. It means that their transactions are safe, efficient and fast. Brokers can recommend electronic conveyancing to their customers for these efficiency benefi ts. PEXA is currently working through options to bring mortgage brokers greater visibility of the progress of their clients’ property transactions. This development has the potential to signifi cantly change the service offering mortgage brokers offer their clients.

How do you help mortgage customers?
MC: An increasingly technology-savvy public will ask to settle property transactions online in preference to traditional paper-based conveyancing. Consumers are already searching for properties on their digital devices and embraced electronic banking transactions when the technology emerged in the 1990s.

ZipID
Founded: 2013
Who pays: App is free for brokers; lender pays for the report. Agency services dependent on broker–lender arrangement
Training available: Simple to use; support available at www.zipidbroker.com.au

What is new about what you do?
Sean Simmons, founder: ZipID (now part of Veda) digitises and mobilises customer ID checks. We’ve focused on solving the pain points for brokers, banks and consumers around face-to-face mortgage ID requirements. The ZipID mobile app puts brokers in control of a paperless, safe and standardised ID process using their smartphone or tablet. If the broker can’t meet the client, they can book a ZipID agent appointment to carry out the ID check at their home or work.

How do you help mortgage brokers?
SS: ID processes cause common problems for brokers. They’re paper heavy and inconsistent across banks. This results in lots of rework, causing unnecessary delays and frustration. ZipID helps mortgage brokers streamline the path to approval by improved submission quality. ZipID is ID done once, done right.

How do you help mortgage customers?
SS: Customers no longer have to be inconvenienced as a result of insufficient or illegible ID, or concerned about insecure collection of their ID. The ZipID app guides the broker to capture high-quality images of the necessary ID documents, the customer’s signature and a photo as proof of the face-to-face meeting. The ZipID system then securely protects the customer information. ZipID’s ‘come to you’ agency option saves many customers from having to go and find a JP or queue up at a branch or post office.

“We’ve focused on solving the pain points for brokers, banks and consumers”
 

DOCUSIGN
Founded: 2003
Who pays: The broker; always free to the signer of the document
Training available: DocuSign University website

What is new about what you do?
Brad Newton, vice president Asia Pacific: While other providers may offer one or two of the features DocuSign has, the key differentiator for us is the fact that we genuinely offer an end-to-end solution for transaction management – something new to the Australian market. Our Winter ’17 release announced the addition of Supplemental Documents to allow for more disclosures to be included in a single contract, as well as our payments capability coming in March, where you can sign and pay in one step using a credit card, Apple Pay, or Android Pay.

“We genuinely offer an end-to-end solution for transaction management – something new to the Australian market”

How does it help brokers?
BN: DocuSign’s Digital Transaction Management (DTM) platform and eSignature service enables preparation, execution and management of transactions in an all-digital environment. With DocuSign you can boost compliance by meeting the demands of the Electronic Transactions Act. 1999, simplify loan processing, increase accuracy and productivity, while saving money. In real terms, DocuSign delivers on average $32 in value per transaction – including hard dollar savings, accelerated revenue and productivity gains – and reduces turnaround time with more than 60% of transactions completed on the DocuSign Global Trust Network in less than one hour.

How does it help consumers?
BN: The signing and management of paper-based contracts can be a timeconsuming and inconvenient process for borrowers. With DocuSign DTM and eSignature, the consumer can sign documents quickly and easily any time, anywhere, on any device. Borrowers can sign loan contracts from the comfort of their home, or on the road, without the need to physically visit an office or have documents overnighted to them.

KUBIO
Founded: 2016
Who pays: Brokers, through a monthly subscription
Training available: Online user and development support


What is new about what Kubio does?
Mark Churchill, managing director, AllFin Financial Services: Kubio is one of Australia’s advanced business origination platforms for commercial brokers. Designed by brokers for brokers, its technology platform automates loans from lead through to settlement and beyond, providing efficiencies as brokers grow. As a cloud-based platform, brokers can access and update their clients’ information anywhere, any time. Kubio increases brokers’ abilities to manage sales, customer relationships, operations and fi nance – all within one platform.

How does Kubio help mortgage brokers?
MC: The platform provides a single view of clients and their assets, and makes it simple to track leads from opportunity through to settlement. Kubio makes every process simpler – for the broker, clients and referrers. Straightforward online forms, streamlined signatures and authorisation are all on the one platform to facilitate faster financing and increase capacity for a more personalised service. The platform allows brokers to build custom workfl ows to help automate business processes. This way, brokers can meet lender submission requirements, thus improving the likelihood of a quicker submission.

“Until now commercial loan applications have been very manual and paperwork-intensive”

How do you help mortgage customers?
MC: Kubio automates the application process from lead through to settlement, making the process simpler and more efficient for clients. It’s designed to manage client authorisations using digital signatures, and performs credit checks and business verifi cations without the need for the client to chase the information themselves. Unlike mortgage broking, until now commercial loan applications have been very manual and paperwork-intensive, and this has been time-consuming for brokers. Kubio makes data more accessible, and provides a seamless and easy experience for clients.