The comparison website iSelect is trialling a new digital home loan process that lets borrowers get conditional approval for home loans in three hours from multiple lenders without needing to fill out tedious paperwork or visit a bank.

iSelect’s technology is the first in Australia to digitise the home loan application process and present offers from multiple lenders – although many banks offer digital services for their own loans.

ING, Macquarie Bank, and Australian Finance Group are some of the lenders who’re trialling iSelect’s new service, and the company plans to do a full rollout next year.

The new digital home loan application service is part of iSelect’s “life admin” business. According to chief executive officer Scott Wilson, it was developed in response to the difficult process many aspiring borrowers faced when applying for home loans.

“We've had more than 200,000 people come and talk to us about home loans, but one of the [most] frustrating things [about applying for a home loan is the] antiquated process…there would be up to 46 pages of documents [needed for conditional approval] that had to be sent out and signed…we were seeing up to seven signatures on the documents,” Wilson said.

“Now we can get you conditional approval in three hours, but previously it could take 10 to 15 days.”

To digitise the application process, iSelect uses technologies such as DocuSign, which allows users to sign their documents electronically, and Veda, which facilitates credit checks.

“We're always looking [for ways] to strip out the non-value-adding steps. We want the customer to get the right product,” Wilson said. “But these products, while important, are pretty boring. You want to get it and start being able to move into your new home.”
 

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