Consumer Data Right (CDR) specialist fintech, Frollo has announced that The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has become one of the first lenders to enable Open Banking for mortgage brokers using the popular loan lodgement platform ApplyOnline.

The upgrade to CBA’s ApplyOnline portal, a loan lodgement platform developed by NextGen, will enable it to tap ‘government-regulated’ CDR data to help fast-track the home loans application process.

For instance, application forms can be auto-populated with relevant customer data, avoiding requests for applicants to supply additional information.

Tony Carn, NextGen’s chief customer officer, said CBA’s adoption of Open Banking data in ApplyOnline “marks a transformative leap forward for the mortgage broking industry in Australia”.

“This is the step change the industry has been looking for and CBA’s decision underscores its commitment to leadership in technology and customer-centricity,” Carn said.

Michael Baumann, CBA’s executive general manager, home buying, said the enhanced broker capability would “create a more seamless home loan application experience for our customers and… [equips] brokers with the tools they need to best support their customers in reaching their homeownership goals”.

According to Frollo, fewer than 15 per cent of all home loan applications are approved without the need for additional information post-submission.

“This results in an average 14-day waiting period for unconditional approval across the industry, causing frustration, incurring staff costs, and creating operational inefficiencies for the 85 per cent of applications that require extra information.”

Frollo boasts that by effectively tapping the opt-in CDR system, “customers can now easily share their financial information with their mortgage broker through a secure and government-regulated channel, eliminating the need for insecure password sharing”.