eFIRST Origin, known as SDS MAPS prior to BancTec’s acquisition of SDS Applications Ltd. in November 2005, will enable Retirement Plus to deliver innovative equity release solutions that are significantly more flexible than lifetime mortgages and home reversion plans. Each application for equity release will be handled automatically, from initial enquiry through to Decision in Principle (DIP), and then on to full approval and draw down. By handling all applications efficiently using an automated system, Retirement Plus can focus on treating customers and prospects as individuals, delivering high quality customer care based on personal service.
“As a start-up business we wanted to combine all the best aspects of an effective IT system with the very best personal service offering to maximise sales and provide outstanding customer service”, commented Chris Rumsey, co-founder and commercial director of Retirement Plus.
“The eFIRST Origin solution brilliantly maps onto our functional business blueprint and caters for all our current and future needs without providing costly, complex facilities we’ll never use. We also needed to hit the ground running, in a very short timescale. We first approached SDS in January 2005, and just nine months later the system went live.”
Retirement Plus equity release products are available only via FSA-regulated financial services intermediaries, who can access the web-based solution at any time via the Internet. Critical data can be entered, Key Facts Illustrations (KFIs) generated and DIPs requested. Once application form data has been entered there is no need for re-keying at any later stage in the approval process.
According to James Silcock, director of business development at BancTec, “The equity release market is set to expand considerably over the next three years and we are pleased to offer a versatile application processing solution that will enable innovative service providers, such as Retirement Plus, to seize this opportunity. BancTec’s partnership with Retirement Plus is an outstanding example of the increased benefit we can now deliver to financial services providers as a result of acquiring SDS last year.”
