As a mortgage lender, maintaining strong customer relationships shouldn’t end at the closing table. But many times, it feels like after that initial signature, your interactions with borrowers mainly revolve around just collecting payments. To cultivate lasting customer loyalty — and unlock new revenue streams — evaluate payment platforms not only for their basic payment processing functionality and ability to accept payments but also for their capacity to power exceptional borrower experiences throughout the entire loan lifecycle.
When borrowers feel valued and engaged beyond just making their monthly payments, they’re more likely to return for refinancing, recommend your services and become advocates for your brand. By making payments simple and convenient, and then taking things a step further with digital-first solutions to common servicing tasks, you can turn the payments experience into a key differentiator that helps build long-lasting, profitable customer relationships.
The Importance of Easy-to-Use Payment Platforms
Let’s be honest, paying a mortgage is probably not at the top of anyone’s ‘fun things to do’ list. This is precisely why lenders and servicers need to evaluate payment platforms that deliver a seamless and convenient experience for their borrowers.
Because when making payments is quick and straightforward, you can reduce friction points that lead to frustration and increase customer satisfaction.
Factors to Consider When You Evaluate Payment Platforms:
Payment Methods and Channels
In today’s technology-driven world, your customers want to engage with you when, where, and how they choose — across multiple digital channels, devices and payment methods. You wouldn’t hand-deliver a loan application in this day and age; so, why limit their options when it comes to payments? The ability to choose from a range of options, such as online platforms, mobile apps, or even automated payment solutions can be a deciding factor for borrowers who juggle multiple priorities and value flexibility.
Mobile Optimization and Digital Wallets
Mobile-first isn’t a buzzword; it’s a way of life for a significant number of borrowers, and they expect an intuitive experience whether they’re on their smartphone, tablet or desktop. Your bill pay portal should make it simple and painless for people to make a payment from anywhere, any time.
That also includes providing the option to securely save their payment information so they can breeze through the process in just a couple of taps the next time around. Also, as more borrowers embrace mobile wallets and online payments, like Apple Pay and Google Pay, for everyday purchases, why not let them manage their loan payments this way too? Having that functionality natively embedded into your platform will make your borrowers’ lives a lot easier – and when you make things easy for them, they’re more likely to remain loyal customers.
Text to Pay Features & Communication
When evaluating payment platforms, it’s essential to consider the role of text-to-pay functionality in enhancing the borrower experience and customer support. Text-to-pay offers convenience, accessibility, and speed, allowing borrowers to make payments quickly and easily using their mobile devices. Ensure that the platform uses secure protocols, is easy to use, and allows for customizable messaging and reminders. By prioritizing text to pay functionality, lenders can provide a seamless and convenient payment experience that meets the evolving needs of their borrowers.
Personalized Communications and Payment Reminders
No one wants to be surprised by hidden fees or miss a payment because a notification got lost in the shuffle. Having the ability to send personalized emails and text reminders keeps your borrowers informed and reduces late or missed payments, and potentially costly delinquencies.
These reminders don’t have to be strictly transactional either. Since you’re constantly striving to provide more value, this is an opportunity to get creative and keep your brand top of mind year-round. For instance, include information about new products, services, or promotions within your communications; just make sure you’re always giving them an easy way to opt-out of marketing-related messaging if they prefer.
Flexible Payment Options for Borrower Convenience
When selecting a payment system, it’s crucial to look for features that cater to diverse borrower needs. Autopay functionality, which enables automatic recurring payments, is a must-have for many borrowers. Additionally, consider platforms that offer versatile payment schedules, such as weekly, biweekly, or monthly payments, to accommodate varying financial cycles and preferences. By providing these options, lenders can increase borrower satisfaction and reduce the likelihood of late payments.
Self-Service Features for Account Management
Modern platforms should provide borrowers with easy access to their payment history, statements and other relevant account information so they’re empowered to find what they need when they need it, without having to pick up the phone or send an email every time. Think about incorporating self-service options for common servicing tasks to reduce the volume of basic questions flowing into your call center.
Security Features
This might go without saying, but it still warrants mentioning because keeping borrower data secure should always be a top priority. Ensure your chosen platform adheres to robust security protocols, including encryption, multi-factor authentication, and compliance standards such as PCI DSS, to protect sensitive financial information.
Streamlining Loan Servicing with Technology
Now that you have an idea of features to look for when evaluating payment technology for a more borrower-centric experience, let’s dive deeper into some of the challenges you can potentially solve on the backend, from origination to servicing. The best payment gateways for small businesses will provide secure payment processing and a great customer experience.
Challenges and Opportunities in Loan Servicing:
| Challenge | Opportunity |
|---|---|
| Manual Processes |
Implement automation for tasks like payment processing, reconciliation, and reporting to minimize errors and increase overall efficiency. |
| Managing Disbursements |
Transition to electronic disbursements (via ACH processing, debit card, push to card, digital wallets, etc.) instead of issuing paper checks, which are prone to delays, loss, and fraud. |
| Lack of Data Visibility |
Choose a platform that centralizes data and provides robust reporting and analytics to give you a more comprehensive view of borrower behavior and payments performance, enabling more informed business decisions. Also, use that data to segment audiences and personalize communication (payment reminders, past-due notifications, marketing campaigns, etc.) for more impactful messaging. |
| Handling Delinquencies |
Platforms with sophisticated analytics tools can help you identify high-risk borrowers and proactively reach out with payment assistance options. This can minimize delinquencies and potentially reduce the burden on collections. |
| Transfer of Servicing |
During a transfer, the new servicer assumes responsibility for managing payments on behalf of the lender, but without clear communication and support throughout the process, it can create confusion and a stressful experience for all parties involved. When evaluating new solutions, make sure your platform offers seamless onboarding of loan files, secure data migration, and robust support during and after a transfer to avoid unnecessary disruptions for borrowers. |
Conclusion
As you evaluate payment platforms, it’s essential to take a step back and think beyond basic functionality and explore solutions that not only process transactions but also transform the payments experience into a competitive advantage. Look for a platform that prioritizes ease-of-use, flexible options and robust servicing features. By fostering deeper customer relationships and improving your operational efficiency, the right solution can help power long-term growth for your business.
FAQs About How to Evaluate Payment Platforms
1. Which Payment Platform Is Best?
Choosing the “best” platform really comes down to the specific needs of your business. Take time to define what “best” looks like based on your current challenges and priorities, such as streamlining loan servicing tasks, improving borrower experience or gaining greater control and visibility of payment data.
2. What Is a Payment Evaluation?
Evaluating payment systems or payment providers should involve taking a critical look at the different ways to accept, manage and process payments based on factors such as cost, security features, supported currencies, ease of integration, and more.
3. How Do You Evaluate Payment Terms?
Payment terms are an agreement between the lender (or merchant) and the borrower (or customer). It specifies details like when payments are due, the accepted methods of payments, any applicable late fees, etc. When evaluating, it’s important to determine what terms make the most sense for your business and ensure those terms are easy for borrowers to understand.
4. How to Evaluate a Payment Gateway?
A payment gateway connects your website or platform to a payment processor, enabling secure online transactions. Security, ease of integration, and the range of supported payment methods are some important factors to consider during the evaluation. Businesses can process payments from their customers through a secure online website by utilizing various payment solutions. When your business grows, your payment solution should be able to grow with you. This is critical when you evaluate payment platforms.
