Going “digital” often seems promising, but the benefits can be difficult to quantify. Take a look at our recent analysis of checks vs. ACH payments and the cold hard facts of the differences we see in the Willow platform.
Many lenders only collect mortgage payments on around 10% of their portfolio prior to transferring to an investor. For this reason, mortgage bankers can overlook the benefits of streamlining post-closing and interim servicing operations. Analyzing the transactions in our platform, Willow saves lenders time and money by offering personalized online payments.
By providing borrowers a comprehensive payments portal that shows borrowers their payment breakdown and the status of their payment, lenders have reduced call center inquiries by 95%.
Willow defines this as a portal or form that specifically lists the amount the borrower owes and offers the borrower a method to make an online payment. For recurring payments, the platform automatically bills for the amount due rather than a static amount inputted by the borrower. Below is an example of Willow’s payment portal vs. non-personalized payment options.
There are several core benefits of offering a personalized payment portal:
Borrowers are provided clarity and transparency: Rather than having borrowers depend on their closing documents or snail mail, allow borrowers to reference their loan information directly in the application they are expected to make a payment.
Remove snail mail and processing delays: Mailed check payments have days of delay and require coordination between your mail room, accounting department, and post-closing team. ACH payments are instantly logged into your system and payment data is guaranteed to be applied to the correct account.
Indisputable record of all loan activity: Digital payments allow for a complete history or actions taken on a loan to be recorded. Additional visibility is provided to know if a borrower has logged in, viewed their statement, and submitted their payment.
Importantly, however, is the value and cost savings a company recognizes. Below are a few of Willow’s aggregated findings on how personalized online payments compare to non-digital options.
The vast majority of borrowers prefer online payments: Most lenders have 85%+ adoption of online payments by borrowers. In addition to making payments, 59% of borrowers continue to log into their personalized portal to reference their transfer information.
Borrowers are more likely to pay on time: 83% of borrower payments are received and recorded by the 1st of the month when provided with an online portal, compared to 60% of mailed check payments.
Borrowers are less likely to underpay: Around 5% of borrowers paying by check underpay on their first mortgage payment due to a lack of clarity. With a personalized portal, Willow’s customers have completely eliminated underpayments by providing borrowers visibility into what is owed and outlining underpayment implications.
Reduction in call center volume: By providing borrowers a comprehensive payments portal that shows borrowers their payment breakdown and the status of their payment, lenders have reduced call center inquiries regarding mortgage payments by 95%.
Paired with the automation of borrower notices, 1098 tax forms, and account reconciliation, online payments are one high-value approach to reducing post-closing costs.
If you are interested in seeing a demo or learning more about how Willow can help your company, click here.
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