ING targets internet mortgages

11/03/2010

ING Direct’s executive director in charge of mortgages, Lisa Claes says people will be able to sign up to a mortgage and complete conveyancing over the internet in the next few years, Claes said: “There is an emerging demographic that prefers the ease and speed and accessibility of a computer.

Claes said there was no question there were complexities. “There are a lot of hand-offs with a mortgage sale that you don’t have with setting up an online savings account. You have the involvement of lawyers and valuers. But people used to say you couldn’t set up a savings account online. We have an online home loan pre-approval with a two-minute turnaround and we have online and telephone assistance.”

Claes said the regulatory landscape was changing, with legislation to introduce the national electronic conveyancing system due later this year. The issue of electronic verification of identity was raised in submissions to the Australian Law Reform Commission’s 2007 review of the Privacy Act. Claes said: “We have not got to the end point there but the banking industry is maintaining a dialogue on the issue.”

Source: Banking Day