What does the Borrower want? To help lenders answer this all-important question, fintech company Fiserv [1] conducted a study to gauge the expectations and experiences of borrowers while looking for a loan or managing their wealth.
Titled “Expectations and Experiences: Borrowing and Wealth Management,” the study [2] found that if it speeds up the process, borrowers were willing to use digital technology. It found that 69 percent of the borrowers surveyed said that they would use mobile to verify identity with security questions, followed by 56 percent who would use it to e-sign loan documents.
The study was conducted for Fiserv by Harris Poll among 3,095 adults aged 18 years and older who either had a checking account with a bank, credit union, brokerage firm, or other financial organization and had used that account to make a purchase in the past one month.
The path towards comfort with digital lending was again led by millennial borrowers with 48 percent millennials saying that they would be comfortable using their smartphones to research loan options compared to 19 percent of their older peers. The study also found that 46 percent of the consumers surveyed said that they had accessed their loan or lease statements online, while 42 percent said they had scheduled payments through digital platforms.
When it came to barriers, the study found that while most consumers were very comfortable with online loan processes, they were concerned about doing these processes on a smartphone.
On the key barriers to using a smartphone for loan applications and processing, half the people surveyed said that the screen size of a smartphone was a concern, followed by data privacy concerns cited by 47 percent of the respondents. Around 38 percent of the respondents said that they preferred a personal touch for questions and 33 percent were concerned the data would be used without permission.
When it came to lenders, the study found that interest rates and fees continued to be important considerations in a consumer’s choice of a lender, with 57 percent consumers with a loan saying that they were important factors. In fact, prior experience with a lender also played a key role in how borrowers interacted with their lenders, with 74 percent saying that this had a moderate influence on their interaction.