The Mortgage Hut has joined forces with fintech provider Nivo to move away from email and towards instant messaging.

The mortgage broker is doing this with the aim to close more deals, accelerate the mortgage application process and improve the customer experience ahead of anticipated further growth.

The Mortgage Hut, based in Southampton, currently has a team of over 25 advisers and provides online, telephone and face to face advice to customers seeking a range of residential and commercial mortgages. It works with over 90 lenders offering over 11,000 products.

It is launching a white label version of Nivo’s app which will enable customers to communicate with advisers via a secure instant messaging app. In addition, customers can simply and securely upload the confidential documents required during a mortgage application.

Nivo says that other mortgage brokers which have implemented its white labelled app have reduced document collection times by 90%, doubled the case load capability of their administration teams, driven a 10% increase in conversions and reduced overall administration costs.

Nicola Schutrups, managing director of The Mortgage Hut, said: “With the new Mortgage Hut app, we’re able to deliver a 24/7, seamless mobile experience that customers can flow through automatically, removing the reliance on phone and email, saving hours of effort, and ultimately allowing us to complete more deals more efficiently.

“Customers love instant messaging, and we need to meet their expectations for smooth mobile journeys. The read and response rates are much higher than email, and with Nivo we’re able to automate key steps. This will save us hundreds of phone hours every week, all whilst delivering an experience that our customers find very straightforward. I’m excited about our plans for 2022 and the positive impact Nivo will have on our business.

“Nivo’s solution is tried and tested, quick to implement and integrated easily with our existing systems and processes. We worked collaboratively with our dedicated customer success manager at Nivo to ensure the solution addressed all our key pain points and will deliver return on investment.”

Matthew Elliott, chief development officer at Nivo, added: “Forward-thinking businesses like The Mortgage Hut understand that fintech can help their staff to work more efficiently, provide a better experience to customers and increase profitability. We regularly see first charge mortgage brokers doubling admin efficiency, completing over 10% more loans, and slashing tens of hours on every loan.

“The Nivo app is a quick and cost-effective way for brokers to reduce application timescales, improve their communication security and provide a smoother and safer journey for their customers. Time is critical with speed of application having a direct impact on conversions.

“Borrowers are becoming increasingly accustomed to slick mobile experiences, and they will expect to deal with brokers and lenders using well designed and intuitive apps. Nivo is a cost-effective solution which delivers a great experience for brokers, their staff and their customers.”