Skipton speeds up mortgage processing with Experian

OpenBankingExpo
09 Oct 2019

Skipton, the UK’s fourth largest building society, will save mortgage applicants from the hassle of gathering their paper bank statements by adopting Experian’s Open Banking technology.

People applying for a mortgage will have the option of giving consent for Skipton to securely view their bank account information using the Experian Open Banking affordability solution. Previously, mortgage applicants needed to gather paper copies of statements and wage slips to submit to the lender.

Experian’s Open Banking solution reduces this cycle – which typically could take a fortnight – to just a few minutes through a secure link shared with the applicant on email. The service uses Experian’s Trusso, which can categorise the transactions on a bank statement in under a second.

Once the information has been shared with Skipton, its staff will be presented the categorised transaction data in a dashboard which shows the applicant’s income and outgoings. They can then make an informed decision using data from a trusted source as to whether a mortgage would be affordable for the applicant.

Experian’s Open Data Platform underpins more than 25 million of the API requests each month, and more than 30% of the number made in the UK overall, figures from the Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE) show.

Lisa Fretwell, Managing Director of Data Services at Experian, said: “Many of us have gone through the nightmare of trying to find the right paperwork when applying for a mortgage, when all you want is to get a move-in date. It’s not just a time-consuming process for people, but lenders, too. Open Banking provides them with reliable data which can be analysed at speed to make more informed lending decisions.

“Experian research has shown that people are willing to share their data when they can see a clear benefit. Our work with Skipton is an example of how trusted data and insights can allow lenders to make fairer decisions for the people they lend to.”

Alex Beavis, Skipton’s Head of Mortgages, said: “Everyone wants the journey to getting the keys to their new home to be as stress free and easy as possible. And in partnering with Experian, we’re really pleased to be able to introduce this new technology that makes our mortgage application process slicker and quicker for us and our customers.

“Combining our human touch approach with the benefits of new digital technology is the cornerstone of our mortgage strategy and we look forward to announcing more exciting enhancements for our customers in brokers in 2019 and beyond.”