How do you choose a POS system?

Choosing a point of sale lending portal can be overwhelming, given the increasing number of choices in the market today. GSF Mortgage Corporation recently selected PromonTech’s Borrower Wallet™ for their new POS product, and GSF President, Chad Jampedro, said that they were looking for a simpler and more integrated front-end technology to develop the borrower experience.

“We looked at probably seven systems, and the reason we chose this group is that we felt that the system in and of itself was simple enough that just about any user could navigate it with very little instruction. The others were phenomenal, don’t get me wrong; all of them had features that you’re like, ‘man, I’ve got to have that!’ but when you do the pros and cons, in the end, PromonTech won and simplicity and use for the borrower was the reason why.”

There are several other features that tipped the scales in PromonTech’s favor, including a single login, easier navigation, and improved pipeline visibility for originators. Jampedro was particularly drawn to the educational features, such as an explanation of DTIs, which provided additional value to the borrower.

“I love that, self-serve education for our borrowers. They might not want to ask their loan officer that, but now that resource is there and exists and they can consume it at their own time, at their own pace. So I thought that was a great additional service that they had that others didn’t,” he said.

Choosing a POS system isn’t necessarily simple, nor is it glamorous. It also adds to the daily workload for a period of time. Jampedro said the process for selecting GSF’s new system took about four to six months, and involved prioritizing different features at each stage in the process.

From the initial seven options, the team at GSF went through individual demos and made a list of pros and cons. One of the first questions they asked was how it integrated with their current origination system. Those systems with tight integrations made it to round two, where the team looked at things like the user interface, deployment time, and cost. After that cut, the team looked at some test environments, putting the options in front of an advisory group of both seasoned and new originators, who provided feedback. That got them down to two choices, and from there, it was a gut decision.

Choosing a new system doesn’t mean throwing out the baby with the bathwater. GSF chose to retain other systems in addition to adopting PromonTech; they’ve upgraded from an older version of Encompass WebCenter but they’re still using the Encompass origination system, as well as the loan application provided by SimpleNexus.

For smaller companies, maintaining multiple systems can definitely be a hardship, but it’s necessary to weigh the long-term benefits.

“We really want to give options to our originators and borrowers,” Jampedro said. “It’s, how do you want to work with us? Do you want to work with us using this desktop app that’s also responsive mobile? Do you want to work with us using the downloadable app? It’s also the choice of the borrower, and then it’s also the choice of the originator: how do you want your borrower to work with you?”

When it comes to technology, everyone gets so excited about increasing efficiency and loan volume, but the oft-overlooked fact is that those changes don’t happen immediately. Jampedro says this is a “dirty little secret” about technology adoption.

“Initially, your expenses go up because now you’re spending more time training your internal staff, you’re fixing elements, so there’s an overhead period of time. We’re still in that, were we haven’t really seen a cost reduction yet because it’s too early in the game. Your costs will level off and will come back down as it’s absorbed into your company culture.”

In order for it to be absorbed in a significant way, team training needs to be part of the plan. Change is the name of the game, and many factors, such as compliance and guidelines, are beyond the control of individual originators. When it comes to systems, then, there can be a reluctance to rock the boat and use something new. GSF took a “one-to-one approach,” and their systems manager personally trained each originator on the new system, as well as working in small groups.

“We understand the power of numbers. You get more than 13 people in a room, you’re less likely to get good feedback or good questions so we tried to do it with small groups so that we could really get good feedback, where folks were not really worried about looking or feeling stupid in asking questions. But we’ve got some others that are not shy at all, and were critical of the system and we made adjustments to it as long as it was for the greater good.”

It’s still early days, but Jampedro is confident that the system will work out for the greater good. It’s a leap every decision-maker must take when deciding on adopting a new system, POS or otherwise.