Saving time with remote controlled mortgages
28 June 2017
No one likes waiting for mortgage approval, right? Thankfully, customers in Poland, Italy and Luxembourg can be spared the wait with the introduction of a remote mortgage application service.
It’s never easy to find a home that meets all your wishes and demands. First you’ll have to find one that’s within your budget. And when you’ve finally found it, getting the finances in order is probably not on the top of your fun-list.
Traditionally, getting a mortgage can be a tedious and time-consuming process. First you’ll have to find and print the right contracts, pension statements, account overviews and balance sheets. Then there’s the scheduling of multiple appointments at the bank. The whole process can easily take several weeks. In the meantime, your dream house might be sold to someone else.
But no more!
ING has found a way to make things much easier. It’s a digital, remote, mortgage application service. First introduced in Poland, and then Italy and Luxembourg, it’s accessible from these countries’ websites.
Now, there’s no time wasted scheduling appointments at a branch or juggling paper. All relevant information can be sent via email, or uploaded on the ING app. From there it is checked and cross-referenced by ING as it normally would.
If the mortgage is granted, there’s only one appointment necessary: to physically sign the contract.
Going ‘remote’ with mortgage applications doesn’t mean ING loses its personal touch. Applicants still have a designated adviser available to help every step of the way. Poland and Italy offer remote advice on the website, where you can chat or video call with an adviser.
Luxembourg allows customers the possibility to file their application completely independently. And they can always make an appointment at a nearby branch if necessary.
ING in Italy has a remote service page with video chat option
Feedback
The service has been well-received, as ING in Poland’s Kararzyna Stawecka said they get only positive feedback from clients who received a mortgage loan via the new process.
“They like the remote character of the service, as well as its speed and convenience. We want to improve this process and include more products and services to make it more client-friendly,” she said.
For ING employees, the remote service combines the best of both worlds. They can handle more mortgage applications without losing the personal touch of interacting with customers. And customers don’t have to travel far to the nearest branch, for instance in Italy where ING only has a limited number of physical branches.
In Luxembourg, 27 percent of all mortgage information requests were done online since the introduction in the second quarter of this year. The mortgage Net Promoter Score has come in at +63, the best ever NPS score for ING in Luxembourg.
The new process complements ING’s quest to be digital first. With ING aligning its operations across borders, more ING countries will soon follow trailblazers Poland, Luxembourg and Italy.