Selfies and streamlined processes are seldom found within the world of property lending. This morning, however, leading property lending platform LendInvest has announced a partnership with fellow fintech Onfido, an identity verification software.
Now, brokers of buy-to-let mortgages may confirm their borrowers' identity online without needing to fill in paper-based forms. They can do this by uploading a picture of a clients' identity card (passport or driving licence) alongside a selfie of the client to LendInvest's online application portal.
While this sort of tool is commonplace within the consumer lending space, property lending tends not to be as neatly suited to cutting edge technology solutions. But the overriding sentiment at the recent Alternative Property Forum, hosted by AltFi, was that tech could be utilised by property lenders in order to make the underwriting process more efficient in certain areas, thereby maximising the value of manual intervention.
In addition to saving time and resources, LendInvest claims that the new functionality will ease one of the 'frustrations brokers are most vocal about' when handling applications on behalf of clients.
LendInvest entered the buy-to-let space with a digital driven product in November 2017.
The company says that it will look to incorporate Onfido's technology into its online investment platform's on-boarding process in the coming months.
Christian Faes (pictured), co-founder and CEO of LendInvest, commented: “Working with Onfido is a great example of two fintech companies working together to solve an all-too-common financial services problem. We are continually developing our own technology tools and systems in-house to make the borrower journey through our products simpler, faster and more efficient. Wherever it makes sense, we’ll always integrate these with other technology leaders’ complementary tools for the added benefit of our customers.”
