BankDirect is gearing up its website so that you can tie down a mortgage over the Internet.
Marketing manager Valerie Walshe says that new enhancements will be added to the site in the next few weeks, including extra home lending services. At the moment, you can fill in an application form online and an account manager calls back within 48 hours.
However, following the upgrade, she says "it'll be boom boom boom, you're provisionally approved."
BankDirect's current online form just asks for contact details and a statement of financial position. Walshe says that's been a great way to get a lot of the basic stuff via the Web, freeing people up for a more constructive chat with the bank.
However, being able to apply online and get a loan provisionally approved will be a lot more convenient.
Walshe says that many people still like the comfort level of talking to someone about their mortgage, "but obviously, people are busy. They may prefer to do something in the evenings and there's the visual element - you can see what you've filled in."
She says feedback and applications for products via the Internet have tripled since BankDirect's early days (it was launched in late 1997).
Meanwhile, the direct bank's parent ASB Bank is also brushing up its online home loan presence. ASB is jazzing up its website and making its mortgage calculators easier to use, with three calculator systems offering a graphical comparison of different loans.
However, ASB's technology manager Garry Fissenden says that online mortgage applications are still a way off. "It's a progression, and we'll probably go through a couple of stages first."
"It's hard to confirm identity on the Web, but there are some products that the medium is going to be marvellous for."
