6 minute read
Opinion: It’s 2022, can technology replace the human touch?
Everywhere you go these days, there’s the talk of automation and technology replacing the human touch and there is no doubt, technology is surely advancing at a very rapid rate. Focusing on the mortgage production, one thing is clearly evident, the process has become so centralized and very automated and even though the process is a little paper based. Major hallmarks that will soon be the face of this industry have come up changing the tone and shape of the industry.
Everything has become so easy, loan underwriting, using some electronic signatures as well as establishment of user-friendly “portal” which help the users to oversee their loan application and thus faster delivery and approval process which makes it become a mainstream in loan application and delivery. Loan approval has also become very easy and fast, thanks to the automated borrower-verification tools.
BUT HOW IS TECHNOLOGY COMPARED TO THE HUMAN TOUCH
We may argue on this issue but logically, technology has done so much for the economy and has changed the way businesses are run and conducted. But here is what Kermit Randa, CEO of PeopleAdmin has to say about technology and human touch;
However, even if there is so much evolution in mortgage lending and all what goes in and out of this world in so far as technology is concerned, the overall user experience has not gotten better yet. Basically, there are so many challenges that are yet to be overcome. Financing a home for example for many people is still very confusing since most of the consumer or the borrowers are unable to get what they are looking for in terms of help in solving the many puzzles in their head.
Technology has done so much for a change in the way things are in so many sectors today but the same old taste of mortgage cannot be replaced, not that easily, reversing this trends will require the lenders to find some new ways to give their borrower counterparts a combination of technology and human expertise. Therefore, replacing human touch with technology is something that will have to take time.
IMPROVING THE CONSUMERS EXPERIENCE
This should be the time where mortgage experience for the consumer should be improved and given that the country has a very strong job growth rate as well as a stable home-sales, the purchase-loans volume is expected to increase in the current year and the year to come.
Back then when the housing market was doing fairly well, a few consumers were able to get approved mortgage online. It was in this phase the mortgage lenders were in complete dominance of the whole process which was neither automated nor efficient.
But with the technology, the industry has seen enormous changes and a number of innovations and with this improved technology, verification of borrower’s income and the assets are instantaneous. When searching for loans and their pricing, the process has become so easy and very fast, thanks to the new and improved technology.
Everything has become electronic for the improvement of the consumer experience, and what’s even fun, people can now sign disclosures electronically and also, ordering tax transcript from the IRS has become an electronic process.
But we have to face one fact, even though that all these huge steps have been made for the benefit of the consumer, many of them have been motivated by the needs of the lenders to cut the costs and manage them.
ACCESS TO INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Technology has also enabled the consumers to get access to greater and more informational systems about the mortgages than ever before. Most of the consumers have very little information about mortgages but with the access to the information, they become informed. In some ways, technology may have made the consumers not dependent on the human expertise which they largely depended on to make some of the crucial financial decisions of their lifetime.
With what technology have done and still continuous to do, many borrowers still fill out the forms manually meaning that incorporation of the technology to the process has not well been accepted or the coverage is still very low. Ironically, it turns out that most of the borrowers are interested in a good loan rather than technological touch in mortgage issuing process.
People are going for what not works, simply, their focus is on things that do not show results yet more and more mortgage lenders are putting more emphasis on social media and stuff, however, even though that is great, research from Mckinsey proves that emails are more effective but as it is, more lenders cannot even respond to a single email within a day.
TARGETING AND REACHING MORE BORROWERS
We all would agree that making the mortgage process faster and much more efficient remains to be at the peak of every lenders but as it is, most of the professionals want to take advantage of the prevailing strong housing market to make a boom in their business.
Online portals, a tool that has been on the rise and many lenders are realizing just how important this tool has been in reaching so many consumers out there. With these portals, consumers can now apply for loans and get approved in a much faster way. Actually, no loan officer is required to oversee the process.
But this tech has a problem, a major drawback and perhaps that may be the number one reason pushing people away from these improvements. If you are a borrower, and say you get stuck on the process, there is no one to help you or if you have a question, there is no one to assist you. These portals are very important and have seen the success of many mortgage seekers. One thing you will realize is that automation creates consistency and can be applied as an effective tool in helping the loan advancer in seeing the loan advancement to the borrower through.
FINAL VERDICT
Can technology replace the human touch? I will surely say that it will depend. Somehow, if you look at what technology has done in the industry in so far as mortgage lending is concerned, there are huge strides that it has enabled and still much credit has been given to the changing technology and its impact. However, none of that would ever be possible without human engagement. The whole process needs human touch since humans are the source of the ideas while tech is just a facilitator of the tech. Therefore, even though automation has well been encouraged, overly, it cannot replace the human touch but we can still push for more and more digital mortgages and responsive tools and in doing so most borrowers should understand that many people are looking for the right mortgage rather than a fast one.
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