Who are you? LendInvest, a UK marketplace platform for mortgages, and Onfido, an identity verification provider, have partnered to streamline LendInvest’s digital application process for its Buy-to-Let (BTL) product to determine identity. In November 2017, LendInvest launched its first BTL product with a digital application process; the new partnership with Onfido builds on LendInvest’s recent integration with Stripe to take online valuation fee payments for BTL applications.
Christian Faes, LendInvest Co-Founder & CEO, explained that LendInvest and Onfido are working together to solve an “all-too-common financial services problem.”
“We are continually developing our own technology tools and systems in-house to make the borrower journey through our products simpler, faster and more efficient,” noted Faes. “Wherever it makes sense, we’ll always integrate these with other technology leaders’ complementary tools for the added benefit of our customers.”
Onfido recently was selected by City A.M. as the #2 in Europe’s Fintech50, best ‘ones to watch,’ alongside unicorns Revolut, Raisin, N26, Seedrs, Starling Bank and Tink. Onfido currently carries out checks in 192 countries for global customers including Revolut, Couchsurfing and Zipcar.
By incorporating Onfido’s proprietary tech into its digital application system, LendInvest indicated that its BTL applicants may now confirm their identity online, instead of the need for paper forms. Their brokers can prove clients’ identities by simply uploading a photo of one identity document such as a passport or driving license to LendInvest’s application portal along with applicants’ selfie photos taken with their mobile phone.
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Onfido Co-Founder & CEO Hussayn Kasai noted that the importance of its tech:
“We live in an increasingly online world, and in-person or paper-based processes are no longer fit for purpose. There’s increasing demand from both brokers and consumers for a fast, frictionless and secure lending experience, and we’re proud to work with market-leading companies like LendInvest to deliver that.”
By removing the need for certified physical copy documents, the LendInvest-Onfido partnership aims to make the mortgage application process easier for both brokers and their clients by saving time, effort and resources. In addition, Plans are also in place to incorporate Onfido technology into the onboarding process used for LendInvest’s online investment platform over the coming months.
Earlier in July, LendInvest reported strong growth across all key metric; the platform reported that it currently manages more than £820 million ($1.1 billion) on behalf of all types of investors who have lent almost £1.4 billion ($1.85bn) of mortgage finance throughout the UK.
“We have lent more BTL finance in the first few months since launch than we did during our first full four years in business,” Faes commented regarding its 2017 Financial Year Results. “We almost doubled the size of the business last year, with only a relatively negligible increase in our headcount, and importantly remaining profitable which we’ve consistently done for the last four years.”
