The mortgage process is full of pain points for buyers and lenders alike. Buyers have to wade through confusing jargon, endless paperwork, and an impossibly huge range of products – often relying on brokers to navigate the options. Meanwhile, lenders are struggling to keep up with application bottlenecks, with processes still requiring significant manual input.
While frustrating, these problems highlight the rich opportunities that exist in the mortgage space. And some companies are making exciting progress towards better experiences for buyers and intermediaries. They’re achieving this through improved UX design, simpler, integrated processes, and by leveraging AI to deliver tailored advice, whilst automating manual steps.
Meet the mortgage innovators
The ten mortgage innovators below are leveraging technology at varying levels to solve problems across the entire mortgage journey. We hope seeing their activity and approach will inspire your next process improvement project, and spark new ideas to redesign mortgage workflows. And if you’re a lender who’s stuck in the status quo, we hope this list helps you realise it's not only possible to make incremental improvements to mortgages, but critical for long-term success.
Type of provider: platform for lenders
Tech: predictive modelling, explainable AI
Investment: currently raising
Vesta Insights is on a mission to make the lending process less biased by helping underserved groups (such as freelancers, people with limited credit histories and immigrants) get the financial support they need to buy a home. Their AI lending platform, Juno, uses predictive AI modelling to analyse potential risks and customer behaviours, subsequently suggesting recovery strategies and interventions to help reduce arrears.
Juno also uses explainable AI (XAI) to help underwriters understand the decision-making process so it’s clear how and why recommendations were made. All of this is delivered in compliance with regulatory standards, and is helping lenders reduce arrears costs by 20% and boost portfolio performance by 10%.
Type of provider: platform for lenders
Tech: APIs, AI
Investment: backed by Citi, Barclays and M&G Investments
Somewhat similar in intent to Vesta Insights’ Juno, is MQube Origo – which uses 28 integrated APIs and AI technology to accurately automate parts of the mortgage process on the lender side. MQube can increase the amount of applications processed by underwriters per day with the help of machine learning and automated data collection, resulting in advanced analytics and AI-supported decision making.
The platform is currently in use by Barclays, AV8 and Citi, and more.
Type of provider: direct to buyer and platform for intermediaries
Tech: APIs, AI
Investment: underlying software backed by Citi, Barclays and M&G Investments
The MQube Origo tech also underpins their own lending company, MPowered, which claims to be the fastest lender in the UK, serving buyers and intermediaries. They are focused on reducing paperwork and providing greater transparency and control to buyers throughout the application process. MPowered also works closely with brokers to significantly reduce the time and complexity involved in approving and processing mortgage applications.
Type of provider: direct to buyer and platform for intermediaries
Tech: AI, integrations
Investment: owned by WIS Accountancy
MortgagX aims to revolutionise the mortgage process for brokers and buyers (and soon, lenders). It utilises several integrations and automations to speed up typically painful parts of the mortgage process such as data entry, transaction reports, credit reports, and ID verification. Some core features include:
- An integrated fact-find feature that auto-fills client information and reduces paperwork.
- An integration with Open Banking and credit reference agencies for automated transaction and credit report analysis.
- Instant ID verification through selfies and document photos.
It can also match clients with optimal mortgage products based on their financial profiles, and provide advice in their mobile app with the use of their AI-powered virtual assistant. Brokers can also use the platform to speed up their ability to match buyers with mortgage products, and evaluate buyers for potential risk.
Type of provider: tool for lenders and other third parties
Tech: distributed ledger technology
Investment: Lloyds Banking Group, NatWest, Nationwide, and Rightmove
Coadjute is a fintech platform designed to connect all parties and systems involved in the homeownership journey. It works by enabling relevant parties – including estate agents, brokers, banks and conveyancers – to share communications and documents quickly and securely using distributed ledger technology.
The platform is designed to sit behind the front-end systems businesses already use, securely linking all parties together. Buyers also benefit from Coadjute, as the overall process is accelerated with better communication between third parties.
Type of provider: platform for lenders and brokers
Tech: APIs
Investment: unknown
Lender Connect is an API solution by Iress that connects lender and broker systems to reduce administrative tasks and speed up the mortgage process for everyone. Brokers benefit from the seamless transfer of client data from their CRM to lender platforms which minimises rekeying by up to 40%. Lenders benefit by seamlessly sharing their products with the UK’s largest mortgage distribution network of 15,000 brokers and 94 advisory firms to grow their portfolios.
Lender Connect is currently in use at TSB, Darlington Building Society and Leeds Building Society.
Type of provider: platform for internal lending processes
Tech: predictive modelling
Investment: acquired by Barclays
Kensington Mortgages is an established mortgage provider, now owned by Barclays, who are leveraging their 24 years of performance data to power their proprietary predictive model, VECTOR, which is part of their Kensington Intelligence platform. This model uses data-driven decision making to accurately forecast risk, aiding them in their mission to serve people often overlooked by mainstream banks, such as the self-employed or those with complex financial situations.
Take a look at a simplified map of their predictive model to see how this works:
Kensington Mortgages are looking to license the technology to other banks and investors in the future.
Type of provider: white-label platform for lenders and intermediaries
Tech: AI
Investment: £860,000 won in funding as part of the UK’s Net Zero ‘Retrofit’ initiative.
PropFlo is tapping into the needs of modern buyers who prioritise energy efficiency, both for the environment and their wallets. Propflo’s GreenVal tool leverages historical property data to give buyers an automated report on energy efficiency. The report helps buyers see a property’s energy efficiency, view prospective monetary value of home improvements, and find home improvement suppliers directly on the platform.
An example of the initial analysis from GreenVal
GreenVal is currently in use by Habito, Green Mortgages and more. In addition to GreenVal, PropFlo also offers additional tools, including ‘PortfolioAudit’ for lenders to monitor performance, and ‘HomeHub’ designed to help buyers with further home improvements and document management.
Type of provider: direct to buyer
Tech: online experience – unknown underlying technology
Investment: Legal & General, Waterfall, Barclays, NatWest + more
Generation Home (Gen H) is an innovative mortgage lender focused on making homeownership more accessible, and modernising the overall mortgage experience. It offers a flexible user experience through features like 'Income Boosters' which allow friends or family to contribute to the mortgage without being part of the ownership, and 'Deposit Boosters' for added financial support. Their 'Dynamic Ownership' feature enables shared ownership and tracks equity in real time. The platform aims to simplify and modernise the home-buying process, offering personalised services, transparent pricing, and a smoother legal experience through Gen H Legal.
Tom Blomfield, Co-Founder of Monzo, is known for putting users front and centre, and he now sits on the board of Gen H. Here are Tom’s reflections on the similarities between Monzo and Gen H:
Type of provider: platform for brokers and their clients
Tech: online experience – unknown underlying technology
Investment: N/A
Santander’s recent improvement to the mortgage experience proves your idea doesn't need to be complicated. Edge Home by Santander is an online service for brokers and their clients, designed to provide buyers with clear information during the mortgage application process. It taps into common pain points of applying for a mortgage, such as long wait times and lack of transparency, to deliver a better user experience for buyers and brokers alike. It offers a real-time tracker for mortgage approval progress, estimates completion times, and lets buyers easily see the details of their mortgage offer.
It also helps buyers with suggested suppliers (such as broadband) and provides a moving checklist to minimise stress.
Across these examples of mortgage innovation, there are some consistent takeaways:
Machine learning and predictive modelling offer far greater benefits than solely reducing admin costs. AI-supported products and decision making can increase the accuracy of risk forecasting and product suitability, which enables lenders to help previously underserved buyer-types – while reducing arrears. The speed gains that come along with this automation also benefit buyers, who have historically dealt with long application wait times.
UX improvements are critical. While AI and automation are big drivers of mortgage innovation, there are still plenty of user experience challenges across the entire mortgage journey to resolve. If you’re weighing up where your focus should be, consider undertaking some user research before diving straight into a technological solution.
A higher standard of mortgage experience is being established – and buyer expectations are shifting accordingly. With more and more providers offering flexible, tailored products, delivered within seamless digital experiences, the status quo is shifting. This puts pressure on lenders with increasingly outdated mortgage experiences, and is a challenge they will need to overcome in the near future. Read more about shifting buyer expectations here.
Looking to kickstart your own mortgage innovation project?
Whether you have an idea you want to explore, or you’re not sure where to start, the Greenhouse can help.
Where Ideas Grow.
If you want to get your own innovation cycle moving, take a look at the &us Greenhouse – a cost effective 2-4 week innovation programme designed to help you make progress faster.
