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Pepper Money leading the way with real life help BY MICHELLE SARGEANT
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020 has been a year like no other. But it is a year we can all be proud of. What it has demonstrated is just how well the industry can come together to support one another when it’s needed the most. Advisers were busier than ever, at the forefront helping customers understand their options and looking to improve their situation, while also managing shifting credit appetites from lenders, delayed turnaround times and more people seeking solutions. This was no easy feat and is a direct reflection of the passion and effort advisers put in to helping Kiwi families achieve their goals.
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With our first full year in market in New Zealand, Pepper Money sought to offer choice, flexible lending solutions and real-life help for advisers and their clients. At the peak of the pandemic, we sought to help advisers understand the financial relief options available to their customers quickly. That’s why we created the Pepper Money Financial Assistance hub from scratch – a comprehensive guide with all the information on financial relief assistance a customer may need to know, as well as a simple online form where customers experiencing hardship could apply for assistance. Pepper was also proud to lead the industry in honouring all trail payments for customers affected by the pandemic, providing much needed certainty and confidence about an adviser’s own position, while continuing to help others. Pepper also worked to maintain our market leading 24-hour turnaround times and service levels, giving advisers the certainty they needed when working with an anxious customer. With the year now coming to an end, we are determined to continue our strategy of helping real life Kiwi families and mortgage advisers succeed into 2021. Our market research has told us that almost a quarter of borrowers have been turned down for a loan in the last two years and, almost 40% of those who were rejected were not made aware that there were alternative lenders.1 We think this highlights what we have always believed – which is just how
‘Almost one quarter of borrowers have been turned down for a loan in the last two years’ _Source: Pepper Money Pulse Survey, June 2019 important the role of a mortgage adviser is to our industry. Life events like divorce, long term illness or job loss are just a fact of life, and the way people earn income is changing too. These customers might simply need a near prime or specialist solution and without the adviser channel, everyday New Zealanders would have fewer options available to them. We’ve found that borrowers who have applied for a loan through an adviser has increased over time, with 39% of customers applying through an adviser in the last 12 months. 2 Key reasons being, their ability to negotiate with lenders on their behalf, assisting them through the application process, to save them time and money, and to access a greater range of lenders. We want to make sure we continue to help advisers offer this unique service to borrowers, which is why we’ve made education a cornerstone of our offering. The Pepper Money team runs a regular series of product training sessions, PD Days and webinars throughout the year to help advisers understand the different
