ING rolls out digital lodgement platform for business loans

NextGen.Net’s commercial digital lodgement platform, ApplyOnline Commercial, will now be integrated into ING Australia’s (ING) capacity, according to a statement supplied by the fintech. 

It’s been said that the non-major bank’s decision to introduce this digital offering is due to a desire to simplify its business loan processing while also offering “better support broker diversification and revenue growth”.  

The introduction of ApplyOnline Commercial will provide ING with “plug and play” distribution for their commercial products to the third-party channel.

NetGen.Net has also stated that this “streamlined application framework” is intended to provide accurate information and specified documentation is captured at the point of sale. 

The non-major bank has also integrated ApplyOnline’s serviceability calculator, and configured it to accommodate their specific requirements, as part of this arrangement. 

ING national sales manager – commercial John Kolyvas said: “By adopting electronic lodgement our aim is to make it easier for brokers to branch into commercial lending with small-business borrowers.

“Our aim is to demystify the commercial loan process and make it easier for brokers so they can benefit from this trend,” Mr Kolyvas added, noting that the platform will “be more efficient” especially with its supporting documents service because “commercial loans entail many more supporting documents”. 

“We’re now addressing everything else such as how the loan is assessed, how quickly it’s assessed and how the information gets transposed between our system and ApplyOnline. 

“Ultimately we want to automate the process [as] much as possible.”

Speaking of ApplyOnline, NextGen.Net customer executive Steven Hudson said that the fintech has built a metrics engine into the platform that looks at a lender’s services. 

“We input a number of parameters and we have a live metrics calculation that gives green or amber lights to show how a loan services and what the important ratios are,” Mr Hudson said.

“It’s a key ApplyOnline feature that contributes to application quality. Having this metrics engine improves the quality of the data being captured so loans can be assessed faster.”

The development reflects the increasing momentum towards the digitalisation of the lending industry, notably in regard to verification. 

In September, Bluestone Home Loans confirmed it had integrated ApplyOnline into its platform as a means to streamline its loan submission and approval process. 

Earlier this month, Australian Registrars’ National Electronic Conveyancing Council (ARNECC) published a ministerial directions statement that stated the first steps for e-conveyancing reform and regulation would begin to roll out from early next year.

[Related: Bluestone announces digital revamp]