Cloud platform promises faster decisions and better visibility
Dudley Building Society has completed the staged rollout of its new cloud-based mortgage origination platform, making it available to all intermediary firms following earlier phased testing. Built in partnership with fintech provider Ohpen, the system sits at the centre of the mutual’s wider digitisation drive and is intended to cut down administrative burden, give brokers a clearer view of progress and shorten handling times.
Early use has indicated material time savings. Referred decisions in principle (DIPs) are being reviewed in as little as three minutes, compared with around 45 minutes under previous processes. While individual outcomes will vary, the reported step-change illustrates the society’s focus on trimming back manual steps and paperwork.
What changes for brokers and firms
According to the society, the platform was shaped by intermediary feedback and aims first and foremost to reduce friction during application journeys. Features now available include:
- Real-time case updates and access to key documents within the same system, limiting the need for status-chasing or separate requests for DIP certificates.
- Streamlined documentation with fewer signatures required throughout the process.
- Firm-level oversight via individual logins, allowing teams to locate, monitor and manage submitted business in one place.
Internally, several manual steps have been removed or digitised, enabling underwriting teams to spend more time on complex cases and decision-making rather than routine administration. The society has signalled that further enhancements are planned, including future integrations with broker back-office and sourcing platforms, bringing disparate systems closer together over time.
Feedback from the front line
Intermediary reaction has, so far, focused on operational clarity and the ability to manage client expectations with fewer delays. John Squires, head of UK mortgage sales and coordination at Liquid Expat Mortgages, said the additional transparency across cases was helping his team coordinate more efficiently with advisers and applicants.
“One of the things we’ve found particularly useful is having a clearer view of where cases sit throughout the process, which helps us manage expectations with clients and advisers more effectively. The new platform feels intuitive to use and removes a number of the small administrative tasks that can slow things down when you’re handling multiple applications.”
Dudley Building Society’s head of intermediary relations, Paul Purewal, framed the project as part of a broader effort to strip out duplication and effort in brokers’ day-to-day work:
“The challenge for lenders today is not simply digitising a process, it is reducing the amount of effort brokers have to put into placing and progressing cases. Brokers already work across multiple systems every day, so any new technology has to earn its place and make life genuinely easier.”
Local impact and what to expect next
For the Black Country mortgage market, these changes are likely to be felt in more predictable timelines and less back-and-forth on documentation, particularly where cases require additional checks. While the headline metric on referred DIPs underscores potential speed gains, the society is positioning the platform as a transparency tool as much as an efficiency upgrade—giving brokers and their clients a shared, current picture of where an application stands.
The forthcoming integration work—linking the platform to broker systems and sourcing technology—will be important for consistency. Many intermediaries operate across multiple lenders and software environments; aligning data and removing rekeying should reduce errors and cut the number of touchpoints needed to move a case along. The society has indicated these connections will be delivered in stages as part of later development phases.
Practical details at a glance
From the features disclosed so far, the platform centres on fewer signatures (with the mortgage deed remaining the exception), digitised updates and structured case oversight. That combination is designed to lessen the time brokers spend waiting for documentation or manually compiling update emails—freeing up effort for client advice and complex case assembly.
| Process step | Previously | Now (indicative) |
|---|---|---|
| Referred DIP review | ~45 minutes | ~3 minutes (as reported) |
| Document access | Scattered across channels | Centralised in platform |
| Case visibility | Periodic updates | Real-time status |
For firms, the new individual login arrangement also means managers can see the spread of active applications in one environment. That may assist with pipeline planning and resource allocation during peak periods.
Why this matters for borrowers
Although the platform is aimed at intermediaries, applicants across Dudley and the wider region should benefit indirectly. Greater visibility for brokers generally translates into faster responses to client queries, fewer duplicate information requests and clearer guidance on what is needed next to progress a case. Where underwriters can devote more time to complex decisions, borrowers with non-standard circumstances may also see more focused attention on the merits of their applications.
The society’s continued investment in digitisation reflects a broader shift across the mortgage sector towards cloud-hosted systems and integrated data flows. For a local mutual lender, the test will be sustaining the early speed and transparency gains while it builds out connections to the wider broker technology ecosystem—reducing rekeying, consolidating updates and keeping administrative effort to a minimum.
