California-based business consulting firm Zventus has announced a new blockchain venture geared towards the financial services industry.
The new project is being launched in collaboration with mortgage domain experts, technology partners, and universities to create blockchain technology for the mortgage industry.
The “Mortgage Blockchain Lab” will focus on developing new products, services, and solutions to enhance the loan process. The company predicts the results will make mortgage loans more secure, easier to manage, and less expensive, reducing costs for financial services firms by upwards of 50% per loan.
A blockchain is a type of distributed database that exclusively stores cryptocurrency transactions that cannot be removed or manipulated. Cryptocurrencies are digital currency systems developed and traded using a variety of computational and security networks. The crypto market comprises over $2 trillion worldwide
“There’s no doubt in blockchain’s ability to disrupt the mortgage industry,” said Zventus president Angel Alban. “The capabilities of a secure, transparent ledger without a central intermediary is taking off in Europe and Asia and gaining significant traction in the Americas. We’re thrilled to be at the forefront of a technological revolution that will transform mortgage processing forever.”
Creating mortgage-related blockchain technology could streamline the mortgage lending process for both borrowers and brokers, Zventus Team Leader Carlota Suazo told TMN.
“Blockchain has the potential to improve the customer experience for the borrower and to reposition the broker on how they spend their typical day. The solutions we are developing will help eliminate transactional and redundant steps such as having to gather and update borrowers’ data and documents, verify and re-verify, and the never-ending follow-up game with vendors, processors, underwriting, or AEs,” she said.
“These improvements will allow brokers to focus more on providing a better customer experience by educating the borrower and providing more in-depth product information.”
Cryptocurrencies made headlines in the mortgage industry when UWM CEO Mat Ishiba announced his company plans to start accepting Bitcoin as payments for mortgages later this year. The move sparked a debate about the use of cryptocurrency in the mortgage sector. Experts question the stability of techno-currencies and their usefulness in the market.
David Sacco of the University of New Haven’s Pompea College of Business finance department told TMN that “given the volatility of bitcoin in terms of its dollar value, any businesses that start accepting it are actually adding problems from an accounting and business perspective.”