IRVINE, Calif.–With a new mortgage platform not even a year in the market, CU Direct is preparing to roll out the same technology to two other lending channels as part of a solution it said credit unions will find “revolutionary.”
As CUToday.info earlier reported here, CU Direct has created a new brand, Origence, it said is part of expansion to serve the indirect, consumer, and mortgage lending needs of financial institutions through a single enterprise origination platform.
It’s a “member engagement platform built specifically for credit unions,” the company said. It is also serving non-credit unions on its new solution in part to offset the investment expense.
The company describes Origence as a fully integrated member portal that includes the shopping experience, the application experience and the post-application experience all in one place.
As CUToday.info also reported earlier here, CU Direct, which remains the holding company, debuted the name Origence in mid-2019 when it announced its new end-to-end mortgage lending platform that it said features flexible modules that integrate seamlessly into a credit union’s core system, and which include loan origination, processing, underwriting, closing, funding, and delivery via the one platform.
Now, the Origence brand and platform have expanded across a total of three lending channels.
‘Revolutionary’ Offering
“This origination platform is the most revolutionary thing to happen in a long time with lending,” said Tony Boutelle, CEO of CU Direct. “Credit unions have had best-of-breed solutions, but none of them talked to each other. All were on a disparate path. Now, it’s one dynamic application. It’s so simple. The member is in control. There is a great application experience. It’s a unified shopping experience for all loan types and for all deposit products. The experience is the same regardless of the product type. That’s a big deal.”
Boutelle said CU Direct has spent the better part of 24 months reviewing both the best and the “pain point” experiences in loan applications and back-end processing as part of its vision “to create the ultimate origination experience.”
“One of the pain points with most new accounts is you can’t fund it from your existing credit union account,” said Boutelle. “We heard that message loud and clear from members.”
Financial institutions, meanwhile, had two primary criteria for improving the lending process: Make it simple and make it fast.
Embedded Security
Boutelle said the Origence platform has achieved both, even though it has integrated numerous security steps. In cases where the potential borrower is not part of the credit union’s core, the system runs the application against other security profiles. For example, many financial institutions have moved to use Equifax’s Instatouch offering, which uses phone company data and a phone number to verify a borrower and assist in the decisioning.
“It’s remarkably fast,” said Chief Marketing Officer Brian Hendricks.
Both Boutelle and Hendricks spoke with CUToday.info during CUNA’s recent GAC.
On the member-facing side of the new Origence platform there is a member/borrower portal that updates the member in real time on where in the process the loan stands and what forms or documents are needed.
The member is able to exit the application process at any time and relog back in where they left off.
“That’s a big deal,” said Boutelle.
Co-Browsing Feature
In addition, the Origence platform has a “co-browsing” feature that allows the credit union to “jump in” the loan application at any point the member has a question or an issue by using chat, a phone call or even by taking over the member’s computer.
The ability to assist the member has become more critical as consumers expect a smooth and problem-free loan application process.
“If the borrower picks the mortgage, they can go through the approval process in 15 minutes,” said Boutelle.
That’s the front-end of the process, of course. The back-end is all about how fast the financial institution can process the loan and fund it, a process that is also highly automated.
“This allows the credit union to focus on the human element,” said Boutelle. “Credit unions want to revolutionize any part in the process.”
In a mortgage app, for example, Boutelle said components such as title and flood insurance are built into the order.
Lots of Sexy Offerings, But…
“There are a lot of sexy things on the market, but how easy can you make it for the loan processor? Often, it comes down to repetitive issues,” he continued.
“Our team’s goal is to empower the loan officer to process more loans. We can increase efficiencies.”
Financial institutions can white label the Origence platform to their own branding, or use the Origence Enterprise Origination Platform branding if they choose. Among those financial institutions are two large mortgage banks that have moved to the Origence platform.
“We are serving others to pay for this,” explained Boutelle, noting the CUSO would have been unable to make the size of the investment it has in Origence without those non-CU clients, as CUs represent just 7% of the retail market. He added CU Direct has done 60 demos of the platform to date, including to the second-largest home builder in the United States.
Options Available to CUs
Any financial institution has the option of choosing the entire platform or just the mortgage, LOS or new account opening solution individually.
The mortgage platform is in the market, with the point of sale and new account platforms coming later this year.
“It’s the modular structure that makes it easier to implement,” said Hendricks. “They do talk to one another. The loan officer doesn’t have to learn multiple systems.
Boutelle, who stressed on several occasions credit unions will find the new platform to be “revolutionary,” said the market has not seen a new platform with the kinds of innovations featured in Origence since the early 2000s.
“There are a lot of legacy systems out there,” he said.
The Origence platform also includes a marketing and sales engine that drives trigger marketing, campaign automation, CRM and data warehousing, according to the company.
Focus Remains on Indirect
While CU Direct has made a significant investment in Origence, Boutelle said the company continues to put money behind its long-time bread-and-butter indirect auto platform. Credit unions on the CUDL platform remain in total the largest automobile lender in the country.
“We have a complex organization. Indirect remains a core discipline,” he said. “In the auto market everything is moving up the funnel. We continue to offer AutoSmart, which has three-million cars available (for purchase). We still do transactions at dealerships. No one else has that.”
Added Hendricks, “We are focused on continuous investment in the product line. We releasing new product sets as we go. This will not get stagnant over time, there will be constant evolution.”