UK regional Cambridge Building Society is to offer its customers a Web-based mortgage application processing and approvals service using technology developed by software house, SDS Applications.
Visitors to CBS' Web site will be able to find out how much they can borrow and details on the mortgage product that suits their needs from the society's portfolio. Having selected a product, they can then enter their details on line and will be offered a mortgage in principle in a matter of seconds.
The new Internet system will email the customer with periodic updates of the fulfilment process and provide a personal Web page for regular status updates.
Stephen Mitcham, assistant general manager (systems), says the idea is not to replace branches, but to give customers extra choice and a 24 hour service.
He says: "At present, under one per cent of mortgages are actually sold online...We now expect more people to go through the whole process remotely, receiving an offer in principle and then transferring the case to the mortgage application processing system for final underwriting, completing the process and getting the money."
The newly installed system enables direct data exchange between all the elements of the mortgage process and third party packages - the Internet service, the Lynx application process and the Omnia administration system. As a result, rates and other product details are automatically updated across the society's entire back-end support operation.