New fintech solution to accelerate settlements

Andrew Coronis, managing director of the Queensland-based property group Coronis, said Coronis Conveyancing would help people capitalise on Australia’s accelerating housing market.

E-conveyancing will transform the settlement process, turning a typical two-week process of signing contracts into a simple three-to-four day task, Mr Coronis said.

“This is key in the current hot south east Queensland market, as sellers want a fast turnaround so they have the financial security to plan the next step in their property journey and buyers want to invest as soon as possible,” he said. 

“On top of this, any issues encountered along the way can now be minimised as the transfer of information is much faster.

“Clients are able to log into the online portal and look at paperwork first hand, something that a few years ago would have required sending documents via post or having clients schedule a meeting.”

Mr Coronis believes the launch of the group’s e-conveyancing service reflects Australia’s traditionally strong uptake of new technology and internet platforms. He noted that 83 per cent of Australians were classified as internet users by December 2013.

Tech experts and industry leaders have flagged the significance of digital solutions for the future of the Australian mortgage market.

Property Exchange Australia (PEXA) chief executive Marcus Price believes electronic settlements will revolutionise mortgage competition.

“It is not dissimilar to when the ASX became automated,” Mr Price told Mortgage Business.

“With the new capability in the market comes a new basis of competition, and that competition is going to be about technology and transparency."

CBA was the first lender to begin using PEXA, which remains a key component of its digital strategy. Dan O’Neill, CBA general manager of group lending services, believes that the Australian mortgage industry must work together to harness the potential of fintech and digital solutions. 

Mr O'Neill said that digitising the loan origination process will benefit the customer, lender and broker, since they can spend more quality time on the customer’s needs, rather than "explaining their way through a maze of bank and industry forms and processes".

“There are multiple obstacles in Australia to reaching this goal, but that doesn’t mean it’s unachievable,” he said.

“It just needs the entire industry to move together akin to the digital settlement solution we have all collaborated on with [the electronic conveyancing network] PEXA." 

Moving the home loan industry away from an insistence on ‘wet’ (physically signed) signatures to secure digital signatures is a key obstacle to overcome, Mr O’Neill said.