There was a time when just about all banking was synonymous with inconvenience. Had a cheque that needed to be cashed after work? Too bad. Bank was closed. Short on cash and needed to make a withdrawal? Too bad. Bank was closed.
We’ve come a long way since then, haven’t we. In fact, nowadays, if you want to deposit that cheque after work, just take a picture of it with your cell phone, and voila — mission accomplished. And so much of banking these days is just as convenient, thanks to the digital age.
More digital means less waiting
However, there is at least one sector of banking/financing that has been slow to catch up in this regard. Yes, you guessed it: mortgages. In fact, the process most people are used to, even today, when it comes to mortgages is one of filling out forms and waiting for approvals.
Yet, the mortgage industry is changing in this regard as more evidence points to a move towards online and digital solutions for mortgages, and just about everyone in the industry benefits from faster mortgage transactions, including lenders, brokers, borrows and investors.
As reported in Canadian Mortgage Trends, the Digital Mortgage Conference was recently held in San Francisco, and it signified a continued push of the mortgages industry towards digital. Specifically, digital is seen as making the current mortgage process much more efficient, and not just for the younger Millennial generation, either.
Closing the deal
In fact, at the heart of the trend towards digital mortgages is a desire, by all age groups, to not only find information online, but to complete transactions online, too. Indeed, this is a phenomenon we’re seeing across all consumer sectors, but it’s finally making its way to mortgages, too.
As a result, what the mortgage industry will see more of in the not-too distant future is not only the act of research, which people can do right now, but also the act of applying for and having mortgages closed online, too.
The end result is a modernization of the mortgages industry that says goodbye to perhaps its most troublesome hurdle: waiting. By going digital, all people involved in the industry can look forward to transactions done at the click of a button instead of waiting by the phone, or even pigeon courier.
ASCEND MIC is a mortgage investment corporation, with offices in Toronto and Richmond Hill, that specializes in various aspects of mortgage investing, lending, administration and more.
