Responses
were
collected
in
September
and
October
from
borrowers
who
used
their
servicer’s
website
or
mobile
app
within
the
previous
nine
months.

The

study
found
that
the
sector’s
slow
adoption
of

mobile
technology
has
left
many
customers
relying
on
outdated
websites
or
offline
communication.
Even
though
some
servicers
have
developed
apps
that
meet
industry
standards,
many
still
lag
behind
digital
tools
offered
by
other
financial
services
firms.

“Mobile
is
the
future
of
lending,”
said
Bruce
Gehrke,
senior
director
of
wealth
and
lending
intelligence
at
J.D.
Power.
“There
is
no
more
effective
way
of
being
present
at
the
exact
moment
when
customer
decisions
are
being
made,
and
mortgage
servicers
who
are
getting
their
app
formulas
right
are
starting
to
recognize
that
having
a
great
app
is
core
to
driving
customer
engagement
and
brand
loyalty.”

Gehrke
said
that
today’s
borrowers
expect
an
easy
digital
experience.

“Mortgage
servicers
have
invested
heavily
in

modernizing
tech
stacks
and
improving
operational
efficiencies
to
deliver
incremental
value
behind
the
scenes.
However,
that
same
level
of
investment
has
not
been
applied
consistently
to
mobile
apps
across
the
industry,”
he
added.

Mortgage
servicing
apps
receive
an
average
satisfaction
score
of
704
on
a
1,000-point
scale,
which
is
22
points
lower
than
mortgage
servicer
websites.
Wealth
apps
scored
38
points
higher
on
average
while

retirement
provider
apps
scored
35
points
higher.

The
study
found
that
just
44%
of
servicing
apps
deliver
basic
reliability
and
a
clean,
modern
design.
Far
fewer
offer
features
that
borrowers
say
add
real
value.
Only
12%
allow
users
to
easily
set
up
alerts,
make
extra
principal
payments,
or
identify
potential

escrow
shortages
or
overages.

As
a
result,
disparities
exist
among
servicers.


Bank
of
America
topped
the
rankings
with
a
score
of
784,
which
was
71
points
above
the
industry
average
across
apps
and
websites.


Chase
ranked
second
with
a
score
of
762,
followed
by


Wells
Fargo
Home
Mortgage
at
754.

“The
overall
framework
of
an
app
experience
is
built
on
the
core
pillars
of
intuitive
navigation,
fast
performance,
and
visual
appeal,”
said
Jon
Sundberg,
senior
director
of
digital
solutions
at
J.D.
Power.

“Many
mortgage
servicer
apps
are
lagging
top
performers
in
other
industries
when
it
comes
to
these
essentials.
With
just
44%
of
apps
delivering
a
foundational
user
experience,
there
is
a
lot
of
room
for
improvement
in
this
space.”