While easy-to-use, streamlined mobile apps have transformed the digital customer experience in many industries, the mortgage servicing industry isn’t one of them, according to a recent survey. Most mortgage servicers, until recently, have relied on their websites and offline communications as the primary means of engaging with customers.
According to the inaugural J.D. Power U.S. Mortgage Servicer Digital Experience Study, a slower industry-wide adoption of mobile apps is resulting in a “decidedly uneven” digital user experience across different mortgage servicers.
“While some mortgage servicing apps are delivering on industry best practices, others are lagging significantly behind those of other lenders and apps from other industries,” according to the study.
“Mobile is the future of lending,” said Bruce Gehrke, senior director of wealth and lending intelligence at J.D. Power. “There is no more effective way of being present at the exact moment when customer decisions are being made, and mortgage servicers who are getting their app formulas right are starting to recognize that having a great app is core to driving customer engagement and brand loyalty. Mortgage servicers have invested heavily in modernizing tech stacks and improving operational efficiencies to deliver incremental value behind the scenes. However, that same level of investment has not been applied consistently to mobile apps across the industry.”
Mortgage servicing apps lag websites and other industry apps, according to the study’s findings. The average overall satisfaction score for mortgage servicer mobile apps is 704 (on a 1,000-point scale), which is 22 points lower than mortgage servicer websites; 38 points lower than wealth apps; and 35 points lower than retirement provider apps.
According to the study, most mortgage servicing apps fail to deliver on basics, with 44% of apps delivering basic foundational functionality by ensuring the app is not frequently down or unavailable and conveying a clean, modern look and feel. For valuable digital experiences, however, those numbers fall sharply, the survey noted. Only 12% of mortgage servicer apps deliver user experiences that include the ability to easily set up alerts, direct extra payments toward principal balance, and identify an expected shortage/overage in escrow accounts.
The overall satisfaction score for the top-performing brand in the study, Bank of America, is 784, which is 71 points higher than the industry average satisfaction score across both apps and websites (713). On average, national bank brands are delivering more consistent, satisfying digital mortgage servicing experiences, J.D. Power said.
“The overall framework of an app experience is built on the core pillars of intuitive navigation, fast performance, and visual appeal,” said Jon Sundberg, senior director of digital solutions at J.D. Power. “Many mortgage servicer apps are lagging top performers in other industries when it comes to these essentials. With just 44% of apps delivering a foundational user experience, there is a lot of room for improvement in this space.”
The study evaluated digital experiences of customers from the largest mortgage servicers in the United States, examining the functional aspects of desktop websites and mobile apps based on four factors (in order of importance): design; system performance; information; and tools/capabilities. The study is based on 5,223 evaluations provided by mortgage customers who visited their mortgage servicer’s website or mobile app in the past nine months.
