New Zealand house buyers can now get a mortgage on their cellphones.
In a further sign of our seemingly unrelenting appetite to borrow for houses, Westpac said today it had scored a first for New Zealand and Australia by allowing customers to get home loans within minutes on their mobiles.
Callum Wilson, the bank's general manager of customer strategy and experience, said people could use their phones to fill out a home loan application, submit it and get approval.
The process, including getting the nod, took just minutes and "adds a new dimension to weekend house hunting, participating in auctions and the planning process in buying a home. House hunting and the purchase process can be one of the most stressful periods for people and what we're trying to do is make times like this easier for customers so when they're out house hunting, at the open home or heading to the auction they can access one of the key bits of information they need - that they can get the funds," Wilson said.
Earlier this year, Westpac developed online approvals for home loans and now 10 per cent of all Westpac's home loan approvals come through the online channel.