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MortgagePoint » Your Trusted Source for Mortgage Banking and Servicing News 24 March 2025 F E A T U R E S T O R Y The evolution of POS technolo- gy will also enable lenders to better monitor, track, and communicate with prospective borrowers so that when they're ready to buy, they've already had a chance to build the customer relationship. It keeps potential borrow- ers in the pipeline with functionality that can seamlessly move them from the home search phase to the applica- tion phase to ultimately closing on the loan. Industry data continues to point to evidence that a lender that engages with prospects early in the homebuying process, including providing the first preapproval, will typically be the lender a borrower selects. Not only does this "early engagement" help identify, track, and engage prospects, it also reduces expensive "fall-out" risk by providing touchpoints for preapprovals and other borrower assessment tools, that, in the process, identify borrowers who don't meet lender qualifications. The mortgage industry's tradition- al response to fluctuating mortgage volume has been to hire loan officers and processors like crazy when volume is up and fire them when it's down. But the appeal of that approach is steadily decreasing as the value proposition for digital lending continues to increase, improving operational efficiency—even if volume is low—which provides a wel- come benefit to help offset current low margins. While future POS solutions will deliver a more holistic borrower experience, for now, lenders are equally focused on how POS platforms can make the origination process faster and do it with fewer people. The market will return, and when it does, lenders know they cannot rely on the old way of doing things. Currently, increased automation that comes with tech-enabled POS solutions not only saves time, but also improves compliance, reduces mistakes, and decreases rework with an intuitive, cost-effective system. Saving time on each origination allows lenders to more effectively manage loan officer task assignments and productivity, further reducing the cost per loan. Beyond cost savings, new and improved POS platforms also deliver an enhanced experience for both the borrower and loan officer. For instance, having the ability to develop customized business rules increases automation which, in turn, improves both workflow efficiency for loan officers and communications with borrowers. Real-time updates and notifications streamline the process by informing loan officers, underwriters, and borrowers when changes occur in the process that require action. The evolution of POS technology has improved the process of secur- ing and updating documents during origination—previously a clunky back and forth that frequently left borrowers in the dark about next steps. Today, borrowers can easily communicate with their loan officer in a single, user-friend- ly environment, including via mobile app and SMS text messaging, depend- ing on their personal communication preferences. For loan officers, today it is an intuitive, automated system that delivers an efficient and repeatable pro- cess that makes it easy to get their job done more quickly with fewer mistakes, giving them more time to work on more loans. Beyond the benefits of efficiency, cost savings and improved productivity, current tech-enabled POS solutions communicate a lender's ability to meet the changing demands of up-and-com- ing homebuyers. A POS that offers a seamless, digital borrower experience that is not only attractive to these new buyers, but it is demanded from them, once again proves that when market demand combines forces with techno- logical developments, beautiful things can happen. The mortgage industry's traditional response to fluctuating mortgage volume has been to hire loan officers and processors like crazy when volume is up and fire them when it's down.