Digitisation Of The Mortgage Process Increasingly Appealing To Consumers
The mortgage and remortgaging sector solidified their transition into digitisation this week with the announcement that Moneysupermarket are launching a comprehensive remortgaging price comparison tool and HM Land Registry’s (HMLR) update on their free digital mortgage platform, Sign Your Mortgage Deed.
HMLR announced that a number of high street lenders are adopting the digital service that allows mortgage and remortgage users to sign their documents electronically via a mobile phone or computer.
Nationwide, HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest were amongst the mainstream lenders and early adopters of HMLR’s Sign Your Mortgage Deed services and one year on, it seems that more will be following suit.
As people are increasingly looking to use electronic systems to sign their documents, HMLR are confident that progress will continue towards a completely paperless system in the near future. The fact that it reduces postal costs, printing costs and the burden of finding witnesses for the signing process will only make the electronic more appealing.
Stefan, user of Sign Your Mortgage Document service, commented: It was really straightforward. It shows how technology like this can help make everything so much quicker and you can see clearly what’s happening at every stage. If this is the way forward, it’s going to make everything easier.”
Lord Henley, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, commented: “People are doing an ever-increasing amount online, from shopping to banking, e-learning to gaming. Now they can remortgage their home online as it’s quicker, more convenient, and fits their busy lives.
“The Land Registry’s digital transformation is continuing to make it easier for homebuyers by embracing new technologies like blockchain, enabling them to become the world’s leading land registry.”
Whilst people shopping for insurance and holidays have been using a sophisticated comparison tool for many years, this has been less prevalent in the mortgage industry. However, this technology is finally available for customers looking for a remortgage product.
The comparison tool will look at the current lender information, the type of product the customer is looking for, the amount they are looking to borrow and the intended length of the loan. The results will offer the customer a range of information including: the best deal from a customer’s current lender, headline interest rates, monthly repayment costs and account fees.
It is hoped that a familiar and user friendly platform will provide greater transparency, empower the consumer and lead to increased efficiency in the process of finding a remortgage deal.
Andy Hancock, managing director, money at Moneysupermarket Group, commented: “Mortgages are one of the last areas of financial services to truly digitise. Customers are crying out for greater clarity on the product options available to them, and a simpler and more efficient way to apply.
“Millions of customers look to us for help with mortgages every year and this new platform will give them a new level of choice, control and transparency in their remortgage journey.
Daniel Payne, managing director at Fluent Mortgages, said: “The mortgage market is hugely complex, but thanks to this new platform, users will be better informed about their borrowing options, be able to narrow down potential lenders more accurately and enjoy a higher degree of certainty about acceptance.
“Thanks to MoneySuperMarket, customers are then in a position to go direct to a lender or engage with their mortgage broker, to receive a specific recommendation for total peace of mind.”
Do you think that digitising the mortgage process will become increasingly important in the future? How will these new systems benefit the consumer?
