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A new app is disrupting the finance and tech scene with its promise of cutting down property settlement waiting times by two weeks.
OneStep — an application that claims to automate the preparation of settlement documents and sends them to borrowers for digital signing in “less than five minutes” — is reportedly gaining traction among lenders and brokers.
According to the platform’s developer, regtech firm Leadpoint, the increased adoption of their application comes as the finance industry faces rising criticism over the time it takes to complete a property purchase or to refinance.
The Brisbane-based company’s founder, David Maher, commented that online lenders utilising OneStep such as online lender Tic:Toc and banking app Up are “luring customers” from the major lenders with their quick loan approvals and timely settlements.
Compared to traditional lenders which can take several weeks to prepare loan documents due to manual processes, Leadpoint highlighted that OneStep completes the same process within “minutes” due to the absence of human intervention.
Upon the loan being officially approved, the documents are sent to borrowers immediately for viewing and signing using an Adobe Acrobat Sign and on any device which is convenient for the user.
“There is no human involvement, and the entire document pack is delivered to the borrower within five minutes. If the borrower signs the documents immediately, the whole process will take 10 minutes,” Mr Maher stated.
Providing further insights on the app’s development process, Mr Maher shared that earlier versions of their technology had automated the document generation process, but integration with Adobe Acrobat Sign has now automated the entire process.
“Traditional banks can lose two or three weeks in getting documents prepared and signed,” he continues. “Borrowers would love to get approval and be presented with the documents to sign within minutes rather than wait weeks and fight through piles of papers.
This streamlined process cuts down the standard six-week settlement to four weeks or less, and allows the borrower to settle into their new home “faster and on time”, according to Mr Maher.
Mr Maher believes the promise of faster settlements is attracting consumers to new online lenders and second-tier institutions that have updated their technology platforms.
“Lenders with modern or updated loan origination platforms are the fastest adopters of OneStep.”
While the app is now optimised for first home buyers and owners refinancing to move up the property ladder, Mr Maher divulged that the process had not been easy.
“Having the right technical skills and legal and industry knowledge to deliver a complex solution for every transaction and jurisdiction is difficult. Some institutions have spent millions of dollars to automate and failed.”
With 10 years of ongoing development, the app reportedly now operates in line with each state and territories’ different property laws — a feature that Leadpoint claims makes it a “truly national offering”.
Mr Maher also heralded OneStep’s capability of executing combined transactions including buying and as a refinance settlement, as well as addressing the “most complex deals”, such as those involving multiple loans, borrowers and properties, and guarantors.
Looking forward, Mr Maher expressed his confidence that consumer pressure will encourage traditional lenders to streamline their process to meet borrower demands for faster settlements.
“Industry criticism that banks are taking too long to approve loans and missing settlement deadlines is still ringing loudly.
“Borrowers will look for faster and more reliable services to complete the biggest transactions of their lives. The smart lenders are responding and will capture an increasing share of this lucrative market if the established players do not react,” Mr Maher concluded.
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