On the back of a 27.7% year-on-year increase in broker numbers, national aggregator
eChoice has launched a suite of customised business tools.
Blake Buchanan, general manager of aggregation, said it was important to streamline broker business activities especially with brokers arranging more than 50% of all new loans in Australia.
“In recognising the need to plan for ongoing industry growth, new enhancements have been made to our FLeaTS proprietary system which will significantly improve our broker’s ability to manage borrower’s needs, as well as further reducing their administration load,” he said.
This system allows brokers to give clients the right information in a timely fashion, Buchanan told
Australian Broker.
“What FLeaTS does differently is it qualifies not only the client’s borrowing capacity but it qualifies them against the borrowing policies of the funder.”
This means that instead of the system giving a blanket statement saying a client can borrow $1 million from four funders, it may advise that the individual can borrow $1 million from the two funders and $970,000 from the others because this fits a certain policy or is critical to the client’s needs, he added.
“The broker’s clients are getting a better answer, faster. Obviously, that’s saving time on the broker’s behalf but also saving time for the clients as well.”
Buchanan continued, saying that the eChoice system is one of the most connected in the marketplace – helping brokers to achieve maximum results in a timely fashion.
“If you picture a client that wants to purchase a property for the first time and they’re moving into that property as well, obviously you need to finance but you also need your general insurance. Can you provide general insurance quotes for that client?
“When a client is moving into a property, they need removalist services, they need their water, their power, their gas, they need conveyancing, property reports, strata reports, etc.”
This means diversification for brokers should not stop at asset and commercial finance – it should also move into consumer needs, he said.
When developing the system, eChoice had also made sure it was extremely user-friendly, Buchanan told
Australian Broker.
“We’ve based some of our processes on what brokers are used to in the ApplyOnline and
NextGen systems. Eighty-five per cent of the time, a broker will use their front-facing CRM and invariably end up in
NextGen. We said we’ll cater to the needs of the broker and produce a system that is like-for-like.”
This design is quick and process-driven, eliminating any confusion brokers may feel when moving from one system to another, he said.
“What we’ve actually been able to prove is we’ve cut down on training times through our system. When brokers who have been in the industry for a long time look at it, they understand where things are and how to use it without being trained.”
Related stories:
MFAA unveils enhanced digital suite for brokers
Partnership set to benefit new to industry brokers
Aggregator rolls out new refinancing portal
