In Ireland, the mortgage industry has began a journey of digital transformation. The transformation has been fueled by the increase of home buyers who are tech-savvy, and the need to handle the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2020 alone, the mortgage industry was pushed into a new era of technology that arose due to simple necessity. When the virus began wrecking havoc in Ireland, most companies were reluctant to invest in technological tool. However, many lenders now understand the need to provide online mortgage solutions with an aim of appealing to the borrowers who are socially distanced. There are three major technology trends that mark major transform in Ireland’s mortgage industry.
The first in an increase in the adoption of Application Programming Interface (API) to streamline various business processes. APIs have began to help mortgage providers to improve their efficiency through the automation of their workflows and as a result, they have been able to guarantee the accuracy of their data while helping them comply with the Irish regulations. Without a doubt, the lack of efficiency in the operations of the mortgage lenders affects both the speed of processing the loan and the morale of the loan officer.
The second trend is the increase in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to improve service delivery. Both ML and AI facilitate the automation of the loan application process which was often tedious and document-intensive. Currently, Ulster Bank and PermanentTSB are using AI chatbots that act as mortgage advisers and offer potential home buyers with insights on the basis of product and financial recommendations. Additionally, with AI, fraud can be detected through the use of algorithms and old data. These case can help the lender know whether patters of fraud attacks are present.
Cryptocurrency is the third trend. As we know it, this honorary technology has made a major impact on the banking industry around the globe. The old system of banking is very slow due to the many different layers of bureaucracy you need to go through. Cryptocurrency has however sped up this process since it was developed on a decentralized public ledger. To add on this, the cryptocurrency transaction records are easily verified but impossible to manipulate. This means that it reduces the cases of fraud within the banking industry and ultimately save costs that would otherwise be used to combat fraud.
These four major technologies have a major impact on the Irish Mortgage industry. Lenders need to focus on developing the best online experiences so that they can effectively serve the millennial home buyers. Apart from offering the best online customer service, the lenders in Ireland are now using technology and social media to guarantee fantastic user experiences.
