Yolt Technology Services to help mortgage lenders tap into open banking data

Could we be on the verge of open banking-powered mortgages?

Mortgage lenders using open banking data has long been mulled as one of the most tantalising possibilities of the technology, and it could be close to reality.

Yolt Technology Services (YTS) has added mortgage lenders to the list of financial service providers it serves, giving them the ability to streamline their lending processes with open banking data.

In particular, YTS says its account information services can help verify income, speed up identity confirmation, speed up customer onboarding by pulling in structured data and even help with credit decisions based on transaction activity.

YTS says its categorisation of transaction activity, in particular, is 96 per cent accurate and will lead to far better decisions on credit-worthiness and affordability.

Another advantage of the technology is that YTS says prospective homebuyers retain control of their own data.

“Our services will enable regulated lenders to make faster decisions on mortgage applications, whilst also providing them with the security of a deeper, more up to date data set which can be used for both identification and affordability purposes,” said Leon Muis, chief business officer at YTS.

“Our ambition is to improve the homebuying process for consumers and lender alike.”

While the reality of open banking-powered mortgages is undoubtedly closer than ever, we still have yet to see a mainstream lender adopt the technology as part of its process.

In 2019 specialist mortgage lender Bluestone Mortgages piloted and later rolled out open banking-powered mortgages with the help of Experian, which could only be accessed through its panel of advisors.

Maybe now, with YTS and other open banking providers gearing up to cater to mortgage lenders, and growing consumer appetite for data sharing in return for speed and efficiency, we might finally see a breakthrough.