A new video from Bank of America shows a tool called Home Loan Navigator that allows borrowers to manage the mortgage process via mobile — sort of. It shows a happy couple watching the stages of their loan process on a tablet (spoiler: it’s approved). One part of the video has the borrower taking a picture of his W-2, but another part shows reading a note that says they need to send a fax.
Yes, a fax. Don’t worry, they seem to sign and send the forms via mobile. They begin the process, however, at a branch. They find the home online, but go to a branch before following the mortgage process online. Bank of America has been more aggressive than the other large banks in cuttings its total branch count, and has 12x more interactions via mobile, compared with the branch, as the chart on the right (courtesy of The Motley Fool) shows.
This is progress for Bank of America, which still asks customers online to check their loan status by calling one of the following toll-free numbers. Good luck getting millennials to do that!