With house prices in the UK continuing to climb and competition for properties increasing, Halifax has launched a mobile agreement in principle (AIP) tool so that prospective homebuyers can receive an instant lending decision in less than fifteen minutes.
Whilst it is possible to receive a quick AIP online with other banks, this mobile tool enables users to get an instant quote on-the-spot, and incorporate other smart budgeting information using a calculator to determine factors that may affect monthly repayments like term and deposit amount. Indicative costs, such as stamp duty and legal fees, show the customer any potential extra costs.
Craig McKinlay, mortgages director at Halifax, says: “The launch of this new instant Agreement in Principle (AIP) tool significantly reduces the amount of time a customer will need to spend to obtain a lending decision from Halifax. Being able to complete the application while on the move on both mobiles and tablets helps our customers fit the process around a hectic schedule."
Halifax logged 69 million interactions with customers in June - a rise of 47% on the same month of 2014 - as consumers increasingly turned to their smartphones to deal with their financial affairs. More than half (57.2%) of the recorded transactions came through a mobile app, with mobile log-ins accounting for 66% of Internet banking interactions.