Hinckley first UK lender to launch digital mortgage application system

Hinckley & Rugby Building Society is the first UK lender to go live with an innovative digital system developed in Denmark.

Developed by Festina Finance, the system supports quicker and more precise mortgage applications, helping the Hinckley team to process the customer interview, generate a decision in principle (DIP) and instantly compare products.

Ongoing development will see a personalised self-service online platform introduced later in 2019 for customers to use themselves.

Dean Waddingham, chief customer officer at Hinckley & Rugby, said this collaboration with Festina Finance illustrates Hinckley’s approach to working with fintech pioneers to enhance its offer.

“The first step alone is a game-changing innovation which will quicken each application’s journey from enquiry to completion,” he continued.

“It supports our staff adviser and the customer, from streamlining a smarter interview and Fact Find to improving the efficiency of the subsequent processing to deliver a quicker outcome.”

The Hinckley and Rugby system includes an electronic DIP and Fact Find for residential house purchase and remortgage applications which is tailored to the Society’s lending criteria and affordability calculations. 

The Fact Find is structured for a conversation which flows with varying paths and prompts dependent on the customer’s responses. Automated documents include a DIP for the customer, a suitability letter and European Standardised Information Sheet (ESIS).

Waddingham added: “This is creating significant efficiencies to benefit the customer and the Society greatly reducing time spent manually generating documents.”

“The structure to the interview enables us to better predict timescales, a key ingredient in the customer’s satisfaction with their experience.”

The project’s next stage will enable customers to generate their own DIP for residential and buy-to-let mortgages and use calculator tools.

An online application process will have inbuilt affordability calculations and document uploading. What’s more, the self-service platform will also allow non-interactive, execution-only lending.

Chief executive officer and head of sales and marketing at Festina Finance, Mikael Braagaard, added: “As a fintech committed to creating innovative solutions within the field of digital financial advice, we are delighted to have been challenged by Hinckley & Rugby.”

“Our solution enables societies to provide better advice and consumers to receive information in an easily understood form. The team at Hinckley understood this from the very beginning.”