Global recognition for Kiwi mortgage fintech firm

Carmen Vicelich, Valocity

The company, set up four years ago, is the only Australasian tech firm nominated at this year’s Fintech awards, a worldwide event attended by the likes of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. A total of 40 companies have been nominated worldwide.

Valocity’s platform is designed to help banks value properties during the mortgage application process. It links banks with valuers, as well as providing an automated valuation on some properties. It also aims to help brokers cut down on admin-time spent talking to the banks about valuations.

The company’s cloud-based technology helps borrowers and advisers get a view of decision-making, speeding up the process.

Valocity founder and CEO Carmen Vicelich told TMM she believed data analytics would help to “digitise” the mortgage application process, making it easier for banks, brokers and customers to communicate: “Regulatory compliance is adding friction to the process for lenders, but at the same time, expectancy around the customer experience has increased. Little has changed in the mortgage application process for some time.We created Valocity to connect banks’ decisioning, brokers being able to start the process, customers being able to see the process, and valuers able to finish the process, all on one platform,” she added.

Vicelich said advisers could use the platform to share information with lenders to smooth the application process for clients: “It is putting the whole process online. If there are plans or documents you want to share with a valuer it can all be uploaded.”

Vicelich said the company could help advisers cut down on admin-time, and help advisers get a clearer picture of potential lending ahead of auctions: “It about letting them understand valuations and loan to value ratios. On our landing page we let brokers know where a property will sit on out automated valuation model. That way they can see where it will sit, and that is a huge value-add brokers really like.”

The Fintech awards take place between 12-14 November.