Experian has launched its new open banking solution with Nationwide Building Society on Smartr365, following a successful pilot scheme.

Experian will now work with the top three provider of mortgages in the UK and will roll out the solution to mortgage applicants who apply via any intermediaries that use Smartr365. As a result of this launch, Nationwide, through Smartr365, will be one of the first lenders to offer the Experian digital alternative to the traditional paper-based proof model.

Using the solution, mortgage applicants are no longer required to obtain statements manually from their bank before sending to the broker for printing, certifying, scanning and uploading, saving brokers approximately 30 minutes on their applications.

Smartr365 also offers customers and intermediaries a fully digital mortgage journey, with the intention of minimising cases of fraud and errors whilst reducing the overall time spent on applications.

The service works like a conventional bank statement but will use open banking to access a customer’s transactional data digitally with their consent. This is then categorised into an Experian statement to make it easier to interpret and ultimately, reduce the time taken to assess a customer’s affordability.

The solution is also capable of bringing consistency for underwriting assessment as well as increasing the quality, due to the exact statement date range being provided first. The in-built

Experian authentication and ownership check also instantly verifies identity, along with confirmation that the account is valid.

The Smartr365 HomeBuyer app also provides an Experian Mortgage Passport, which gives intermediaries a single view of income, expenditure and financial behaviour.

Intermediary digital relationships lead, Nationwide, Andy Tilsley, said: “This is an example of how embracing technology can lead to simplification of what can be a manual and time-consuming process, one in which will improve the experience of the intermediary and Nationwide customer. This also reaffirms Nationwide’s commitment to work with key strategic partners in supporting the intermediary market striving for an effortless mortgage journey.”

Managing director of strategy and innovation at Experian, Steve Thomas, continued: “We’re delighted that Nationwide mortgage customers are set to benefit from Experian’s open banking solution. By using our innovative technology, we are helping to create a much quicker, seamless, and more convenient experience that meets the expectations of the modern home buyer. We hope that Nationwide are the first of many more partners who see the value in adopting this technology to help move the mortgage process into the digital age.”

CEO and founder of Smartr365, Conor Murphy, added: “This is an incredibly exciting step for the industry, with the Nationwide roll out responding to consumer demands for simple, integrated, and efficient services in the home buying process. This move truly symbolises exactly where the future of the market is heading, helping consumers to enjoy a completely frictionless mortgage process from start-to-finish, and ensuring intermediaries will have more time to provide a valuable service to customers, at a time when they need more guidance than ever.”

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