Heritage Bank teams with Experian to improve loans process for borrowers

By Edil Corneille

Heritage Bank has partnered with global information services company Experian to introduce a new loans origination platform that will cut the processing time for the average home loan application by up to 80 per cent. Loan applicants will enjoy a much faster and simpler experience thanks to the new platform, providing one interface to connect the multiple programs required to load and process an application.

The platform will reduce the average time needed to load, process and assess a standard application through branches from about five business days to roughly one business day.

Heritage and Experian will work closely together over the next 12 months to roll-out the platform, which will be used for both home loans and personal loans. The platform incorporates a new credit decisioning solution, which will cut down the assessment timeframes through auto-approvals for eligible loans.

Borrowers will also be able to load applications and supporting documents online, speeding up the application process and improving the overall customer experience. The first phase of implementation gives individuals information on their borrowing capacity in 10 minutes.

Heritage CEO Peter Lock said the new platform would lead to a faster, more seamless and consistent experience for customers, mortgage brokers and staff members. “Buying a home or a new car is a big moment in people’s lives and we want to make the process as simple and easy as possible,” Lock said.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Experian to implement the new platform, as it will streamline our loan process and make it quicker and easier for everyone.

“It will be much less cumbersome to load the application in the first place, and the assessment will also be much more efficient, so we can get loans approved much more quickly.

“It’s exciting to work with the great team at Experian, who have already done some tremendous work in helping us rollout the first phase of the new platform.”

Experian’s General Manager of Decisioning and Analytics Mathew Demetriou said, “A complete end-to-end solution in such a highly regulated environment is essential for all businesses as they transform their loan services to meet the evolving needs of their customers.

“Today, competition is high and customer experience is pivotal. Combining our data, technology and consultancy to provide a platform for Heritage transforms their business to meet customer demand safely and at speed

“The phased approach of this significant transformation reflects Heritage’s commitment to their customers, brokers and staff, enabling strong adoption for the highly efficient loan platform.”