Love it or hate it, you can’t ignore technology but I still sense not everyone welcomes it, and many are still not adopting it.

You may have recently seen some research we did with mortgage brokers about the future of our industry on a whole host of topics. Technology, and the industry’s view of it, is a theme I keep coming back to.   

 

There’s optimism, but not always investment 

There was widespread positivity about tech overall, with almost all believing it will improve the advised mortgage journey in the next 10 years, and the majority agreeing it’s an enabler for good advice.  

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Others said they thought it would continue to offer time and efficiency savings, make the overall experience smoother for borrowers and increase their capacity to spend more time with clients. And I share these views – having seen just how positive some of the improvements we’ve made at Accord have been to brokers and their clients.  

I’m excited about what we can do to help further still. 

But do I think we’re all making the most of the opportunity technology presents? No. And with three quarters of respondents having no plans to invest in new technology, it shows just how important it is brokers take advantage of what’s already available to them, even without additional investment.  

As a lender, we continually implement new tech to improve our service to brokers, making it easier for them to submit cases. It’s a virtuous circle – getting a case over the line efficiently and with as little effort as possible can lead to better customer service and ultimately, better client retention.  

But on a national level the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) quote that an additional value of £100bn could be unlocked in the UK economy, in part, if businesses adopted key technologies.  

That’s huge, but I can see the value still waiting to be realised on a local level too, in our world.  

 

Let technology support business this year, not hinder  

As we face a busy New Year, it’s a great time for those that don’t already, to embrace technology, and let it do a lot of the heavy lifting.  

We may not have anything like the stamp duty frenzy in our sights, but we’ll continue to see a strong market. There were many borrowers looking to lock into record low deals ahead of the Bank increasing its rate, and vanilla cases will be few and far between as the fallout of the pandemic affects borrower circumstances, and complexity becomes the new norm.  

I imagine we’ll see house price inflation return to more ‘normal’ levels, but I don’t think there will be any real change to the issues with housing supply – it would take a seismic shift in the market to reach an equilibrium with demand.  

The purchase market though will remain strong, I’m sure, but I think there’s some real value for brokers in maximising what will be large remortgage and product transfer markets.  

Using technology to pre-populate data, get quick queries answered by lenders or to track the progress of cases could all make brokers’ lives easier, and the time saved could be better spent helping more clients. 

Anyone who saw me speaking at The Mortgage and Protection events knows how strongly I feel about technology, and it’s with the industry’s interests at heart that I’ll continue to champion its use and support its wider adoption.  

Early adopters are already reaping the rewards, so make it a resolution to embrace it more next year and I’m sure you, and your business, won’t regret it.