Revolutionizing the Home Loan Experience: Thoughtworks Partnership with Bluestone
The financial industry is undergoing a profound shift towards modernization. Thoughtworks, a global technology consultancy renowned for its expertise in strategy, design, and engineering, has joined forces with Bluestone, a dynamic player in the home loans solutions sector, to usher in a new era of digital excellence. This partnership aims to introduce a comprehensive suite of cutting-edge digital capabilities that elevate the experience for brokers and borrowers throughout the entire home loan life cycle.
The Growth Story of Bluestone
Bluestone, a fast-growing, full-service lender specializing in residential home loan solutions, serves customers across Australia and New Zealand. Recognizing the ever-evolving digital landscape as an opportunity for future-readiness, Bluestone embarked on a journey to transform into a technologically advanced organization. The partnership with Thoughtworks was a strategic move to expedite this transformation. Together, they set out to create a holistic, cloud-hosted digital lending platform designed to enhance transparency for brokers, borrowers, and employees. This platform would also usher in a modern, user-friendly approach to loan servicing and collections.
Navigating a Volatile Home Loan Market
In the midst of a volatile home loan market, the need for highly personalized, agile, and trustworthy solutions became increasingly evident. Thoughtworks, with its profound understanding of technology trends, recognized the critical role of security, risk management, and compliance in the digital lending landscape. To address these challenges, the outdated legacy mortgage platform was replaced with a comprehensive self-service web portal for lending, featuring a mobile-friendly user interface.
The Impact of Innovation
The implementation of these new systems and processes marked a significant turning point for Bluestone. Six key customer service processes were automated, resulting in an impressive average daily time savings of 690 minutes in loan applications. This automation not only enhanced operational efficiency but also allowed Bluestone to offer a more seamless and responsive experience to its clients.
Campbell Smyth, CEO at Bluestone, highlights the collaborative nature of the partnership: “One of the real benefits of engaging with Thoughtworks was that they didn’t treat us like a customer – they really worked with us like a partner. That really meant we got a much better outcome in a much quicker time. Since implementing the platform, technology is no longer a limiting factor in what we do, but it actually drives some of the great outcomes that we’re achieving. Ultimately, that translates to a better experience for our customers.”
In addition to the self-service web portal, Thoughtworks introduced an innovative solution to replace traditional CRM. This solution allows Bluestone to seamlessly manage customer service activities through guided workflows. It resides in Amazon Web Services (AWS), providing Bluestone with full control over customer service processes while ensuring a highly integrated and efficient system.
Manu Iyer, Director of Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) and Fintech at Thoughtworks Australia, emphasizes the collaborative effort: “Working alongside Bluestone from the inception of the project meant that we could draw on our technical expertise and domain knowledge to turn their vision into reality. Collaborating across teams within the organization accelerated our efforts in developing a best-in-class solution that was easy to use and provided clear benefits for all stakeholders and Bluestone’s customers.”
Pioneering Digital Transformation
The partnership between Thoughtworks and Bluestone exemplifies the potential of innovative technology to revolutionize the financial industry. By harnessing the power of modernization, automation, and seamless user experiences, they have not only streamlined operations but also enriched the customer journey.
As financial institutions continue to navigate the complexities of the digital landscape, collaborations like this one set the stage for a future where technology is not a limiting factor but a driving force behind exceptional outcomes. Bluestone’s journey from a traditional lender to a digitally advanced organization serves as a testament to the transformative potential of technology in the world of home loans.
In an era where customer expectations are soaring, partnerships that prioritize innovation and customer-centricity will continue to shape the future of the financial industry. Thoughtworks and Bluestone have not only embraced this future but are actively leading the way, setting new standards for the broker and borrower experience in the dynamic world of home loans.
