TheMReport — News and strategies for the evolving mortgage marketplace.
Issue link: http://digital.themreport.com/i/1491913
20 | M R EP O RT COVER STORY do. Consumers have embraced technology, and it's now in use in every part of our lives. Most of the homebuyers who come to lenders for financing have already been using a range of technologies offered by our partners on the real estate sales side. What we need to do now has not changed over the past few years, which is to continue to reduce the friction to provide a more satisfying experi- ence for the borrowers we serve. Ben Miller CEO, SimpleNexus, an nCino company Mortgage technology companies can deepen people's engagement in the homebuying process by of- fering intuitive digital experiences that are on par with the apps we use day-to-day. While financing a home is vastly more compli- cated than ordering a coffee or buying a car, consumers don't want that to be their problem. From their perspective, they are paying good money for lenders to shoulder that complexity for them. As technologists, we have a responsibility to be empathetic to consumers. Providing an elegant, single-sign-on home financing experience allows consumers to focus on aspects of homebuying that are relevant to them and makes the value of lenders' ser- vices immediately ascertainable. Nunziata: I think, ultimately, consumers always want the ability to speak with a human, preferably local to their area and knowledgeable about the mortgage process. The tech piece can help by speeding up the decision-making process. So, you speak to someone, and instead of waiting weeks for an answer, the tech behind the scenes allows for answers in hours or days. That is greatly appreciated by customers, allows the human touch, and provides real benefits. Reicher: The important part of a digital experience is to remember that it is the customer's experi- ence. That means meeting the customer on their terms. Digital adoption ensures that processes are consistent, streamlined, and cost-effective. However, maintain- ing the human element is key to building trust-based relationships with tech-weary consumers. In the end, welcoming consumers means being able to demonstrate flexibility and empathy for their needs—whether automated or with a bit of the "human touch." Zitting: As technology provid- ers, we should all be focused on making homebuying easier and removing any unnecessary steps for consumers in their homebuy- ing journey. Great technologies— whether they are consumer-facing or lender-facing—don't require more attention from consumers. They remove steps in the journey so that consumers get what they want. Are there any trends you see in the tech space that will impact the mortgage side of technology? Iannitti: Consumers continue to gain familiarity with and trust in handling large financial transactions over mobile devices. Lenders will need to evolve their technology platforms to provide increasingly more components of the mortgage process over mobile devices—and not just eSignatures. In addition, increased industry oversight will continue to drive lender investments toward digital technology solutions that increase efficiency and improve accuracy. Mason: One trend proliferating throughout every industry is self-service aided by technology, where a customer enters a request and receives a response immedi- ately. We're certainly seeing this trend in mortgage origination with new loan products and in servicing and loss mitigation. In the mortgage business, self-service consists of automated workflows that reduce cycles times, and in- crease responsiveness and results. AI and machine learning tools have become an important part of this trend as well, fueling everything from automated docu- ment generation to extracting and capturing data from images, to reusing data and creating seam- less workflows that drive process and controls. By automating complex processes, these tech- nological advances will continue to eliminate friction and manual work. In particular, integration with smart document technology and workflow will be key to the industry's future. Nunziata: The biggest trend we are seeing is the use of tech to help with underwriting and compliance. The technological advances in these spaces typically save companies money, speeds up old processes, and are generally far more accurate. What tech processes have become vital to the mortgage process? Iannitti: eVault technology is now a key facet of the digital mortgage ecosystem. From a strategic perspective, eVault technology allows lenders to generate and safely hold eNotes, while supporting the synergy between other e-participants, allowing for the secure transfer and storage of eNotes. eNote usage can reduce cycle times, increase process efficiencies, and ensure data and document integrity as well as compliance for all electronically signed documents throughout the mortgage process. Leveraging all the elements of an eClosing can save originators hundreds of "Mortgage technology companies can deepen people's engagement in the homebuying process by offering intuitive digital experiences that are on par with the apps we use day- to-day." —Ben Miller, CEO, SimpleNexus, an nCino company