T E C H NO L O GY Opinion
New developments in tech – how do lenders stack up?
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ince 2018, Smart Money People has published our bi-annual Mortgage Lender Benchmark study, where we find out and collate intermediary views on lenders. Our first study interviewed 391 brokers, producing 1,173 pieces of feedback. This has grown to 778 brokers by 2023, giving 3,724 pieces of feedback. The studies are wide-ranging, from overall satisfaction with lenders and the reasons why, to contemporary issues, such as working from home in 2020 and Consumer Duty in 2023. A big focus, however, is technology. Three years is a short time for tech development in any modern era. But the years 2020 to 2023, with Covid-19 accelerating many of the trends already occurring within this space, were especially significant.
Fast-paced changes The publication of our 10th half-yearly Mortgage Lender Benchmark study gives us the ideal opportunity to see what changes have occurred, and the extent to which they accellerated during this time frame. The fi h edition of our report referred to H2 2020, and our latest issue H1 2023, and I’ve referenced these in the following insights. Our tech-focused questioning in both studies probed brokers’ a itudes towards customer relationship management (CRMs), affordability tools, criteria sourcing tools, and product sourcing tools specifically. In both studies, CRM providers scored the lowest out of all tech firms. Additionally, the functionality of systems drew low scores in each year, despite brokers placing a high value on this.
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The Intermediary | September 2023
Tech is intergrating into more of the broker journey
Speed ratings give be er news, where CRMs improved massively. Opinion on support and reliability also changed significantly, harvesting low scores in 2020 but earning high scores in 2023. It’s within the affordability tools category that we see the first instance of a theme that continually rears its head throughout the following five years: the eventual format the integration of technology into existing workflow pa erns takes.
Double checking In 2020, brokers remarked on a lack of confidence in results produced by affordability tools, with most saying they would go directly to a lender to double-check figures. In 2023, confidence has not improved, and brokers are still checking with lenders directly – but that they’re happy to do so and see these tools as guides, rather than something providing a final answer. As well as this, scoring for customer service improved by 2023. Criteria sourcing also sees a perceived lack of accuracy raising
JACQUELINE DEWEY is CEO at Smart Money People
its head, this time being described as ‘frustrating’. By 2023, though, opinion cooled, with brokers again being happy to use these systems as guides rather than the final word. By 2023, criteria sourcing providers are the overall highest scoring tech firms, with ease of use and value for money rating highly. But functionality scores low, with brokers saying that the tools don’t offer enough flexibility for their needs. In both 2020 and 2023, product sourcing systems are praised for being so easy to use. And in 2020, accuracy is again cited as a concern. However, the positive theme we’ve seen develop around this breaks down in this category, with brokers being unhappy. Adjectives used when asked for feedback include ‘glitchy’, ‘clunky’, and ‘basic’.
In both 2020 and 2023, product sourcing systems are praised for being so easy to use” This is just a small slice of the insight our surveys provide. But even so, it describes a rich and detailed picture of what technology providers are doing right and where they still need to improve, along with some of the surprising ways technology has slo ed into how brokers work today. To improve their standing with brokers and so bring in more business, it’s imperative that providers take heed of these trends. ●