Much of the talk in the mortgage industry has been about APIs and this will continue to be the case for volume transactions. But in some important regards APIs are not delivering.

We have situations where some legacy platform providers are unable or unwilling to undertake integration without charging a king’s ransom for the privilege. Fine when you can afford this kind of work but when you are not sure which horse to back, and you may need to back a few, this is very quickly prohibitively expensive.  This has prompted many smaller lenders to consider robotic process automation (RPA).

A virtual workforce

Robotics offers the prospect of a software based virtual workforce that frees up colleagues to focus on more important tasks that automation cannot do well. It offers consistency, it does not deliver judgment and works 24/7. There is a variety of uses from matching, validating and ultimately delivering completed results into document management systems.

Most, in the Building Society sector, are using it to effectively emulate the actions of a human whereby a current legacy system “thinks” a person is keying data rather than a robot. But the application of RPA can go beyond this and include activities such as detecting suspicious activity and sorting real fraud threats from false alarms.

Robotics suddenly is materially affecting outsourcing options and decisions and opens up many more possibilities in terms of efficiency and service. Quick document access, automated data entry and round-the-clock processing all mean greater office efficiency, lower staffing costs and improved data integrity. The biggest benefits are speed and cost of implementation and this can be the difference between two year programmes for hundreds of thousands of pounds or three month solutions for tens of thousands.

The question is, which path API or robotics is right for your business? Is the decision binary? Is one a precursor to the other and can you blend the approach?

Real-time data

APIs are invaluable for mass transactions and when ‘real-time data’ matters. For example, in real-time reporting or decisioning systems, where it may well be important that data from one system is instantly available in another.

By contrast, software robots use clicking and typing actions, much like a human user would—albeit faster and more accurately.

It’s easy to see, when you’re planning your own digital eco-structure, how both robotics and API technologies can be used in conjunction with one another. Organisations use APIs alongside front-end interfaces through end-to-end RPA automation.

Nearly all lenders accept that to survive, they have to improve their technology. How much they invest and at what point needs careful thought and the benefit of experience. It is why so many integrations fail to get out of the blocks in the fragmented mortgage value chain. Complex business relationships that cannot be guaranteed in the long-term make many lenders wary of investing in integration and granting access to their systems.

Smaller lenders facing demands for integration with multiple distributors face two challenges – one of cost and the second is the availability of viable solutions. Robotics offer an alternative to APIs that addresses issues such as rekeying or automating product transfers. Whether a strategic direction or tactical toe in the water, the right robotic solution offers a pathway to test the waters.

Tim Hague is managing partner of Sagis