But it says it is still committed to growing its mortgage offering
Fintech startup Blend has announced that it is expanding into consumer banking.
The Silicon Valley firm says that it wants to leverage its initial focus on the mortgage space – it processes more than $2B in mortgage applications daily - to provide consumers with a better overall banking experience.
In a blog post, the firm says that customers are not looking for financial products, they are looking to achieve their financial goals but find “inconsistent application experiences and manual processes detract from their ability to focus on what really matters.”
Blend believes that it can address these pain points for customers through its partnerships with lenders and other financial institutions to provide a digital-first retail banking experience.
The firm’s Digital Lending Platform will be complemented by a new addition, the Blend Workspace for Bankers, which expands on the existing platform for loan teams.
Bankers using the enhanced product will be able to access multiple products with support and compliance guidance, a central dashboard to streamline follow-ups, and the ability to create mortgage referrals for loan officers.
Omnichannel experience
Blend says that because its consumer and banker experiences are built on the same platform, customers will be able to start an application online and come in branch to speak with a banker who can pick up the application where the customer left it.
Alternatively, a banker may complete some of the details for the customer before leaving them to add their own details later.
Although Blend is committed to its mortgage products, it plans to add more products in the coming years to fulfil its consumer banking vision.
