According to an exclusive survey of 37 of the mortgage industry’s leading figures, Open Banking is the fintech development most likely to benefit their businesses whilst AI and ‘robo-advice’ presents the biggest threat.
The poll, carried out by United Trust Bank amongst attendees of Mortgage Solutions’ recent Senate, asked respondents to select from a list of current ‘fintech’ areas which ones they believed were most likely to benefit their businesses over the next five years and which were likely to be the biggest threats.
| Fintech | Biggest Opportunity | Biggest Threat |
| Open Banking | 38% | 19% |
| E-signature | 32% | 0% |
| AI / robo advice | 11% | 73% |
| Biometric ID verification | 11% | 0% |
| Blockchain | 5% | 8% |
| Secure Chat | 3% | 0% |
| Crypto currency | 0% | 0% |
95% of Senate delegates who responded to the survey felt that they should know more about the kind of technology available and over 35% indicated that Open Banking would be at the top of the list of fintech advancements they would like to know more about. Another 35% felt that AI/robo-advice would be at the top of theirs. 4 out of 5 respondents felt that lenders were not doing enough to help them to use technology to improve their customers’ journeys.
Most business were looking to invest more in technology than they had previously, with 41% of delegates indicating that their businesses would be likely to spend up to £50,000 on new IT development and process changes in the next 12 months. 18% believed that their spend would be over £500,000. Despite the sums involved, over a third felt that their budgeted spend would not be enough to achieve everything they would like to.
Buster Tolfree, United Trust Bank’s Commercial Director – Mortgages, who presented the findings at the Senate with Head of Sales Mike Walters, commented:
“The results of this survey prompted a very interesting discussion during our presentation and demonstrated that whilst some key people in the mortgage industry are excited about the ways in which Fintech could transform their businesses over the medium term, others are worried. Easily the biggest area of concern surrounded AI and what’s become known as ‘robo-advice’. It’s clear that this technology has the potential to streamline steps in the process, especially when gathering information during fact finds. However, it is also clear that we are some way from an entirely digital journey, and that this will likely never happen for many specialist lending solutions where a person will always be needed to understand the nuances.
“What was encouraging though was an overwhelming willingness from those who attended the Senate to find out more, and to work collaboratively with their peers in achieving a greater understanding of the fintech available now and what’s likely to become available in the next few years. We at UTB would certainly look to engage in, support and facilitate that learning process as we explore how fintech can best benefit our partners and customers.”