Welcoming Buyers Home: Digital Escrow and Mortgage Payouts Preferred By Homeowners
May 22 2024 - 7:50AM
Business Wire
92% of respondents agreed that receiving a
digital refund would be more convenient compared to physical
payments, such as checks.
Onbe, a leading corporate payouts platform, recently published
its Spring 2024 Title, Escrow and Mortgage Payments Survey,
highlighting that home buyers overwhelmingly prefer digital
payouts. 92% of respondents stated receiving a digital refund would
be more convenient compared to waiting for a check in the mail. In
an April 2024 Freddie Mac report, the mortgage market saw a 3.9%
month-over-month increase in activity, with a 5.9% increase in
refinancing activity and a 3.2% month-over-month increase in
purchase applications. With 50% of homeowners having received a
title, escrow or mortgage refund, there is a significant
opportunity for companies in this space to meet the preferences of
consumers by providing them with the instant and convenient payout
experiences they desire.
According to the Onbe survey of homeowners across the U.S., more
than half (54%) of respondents who have escrow accounts reported
receiving a refund from their mortgage service provider. In
addition to escrow refunds, 61% of homeowners received a mortgage
payment refund after their loan was sold to a new lender.
Homeowners’ refund experiences did not match their payment
preferences with 44% of respondents receiving their payout via a
check in the mail. By delivering seamless digital payout options,
mortgage, title and escrow companies to meet buyer’s evolving
payment preferences and needs, helping improve their home-buying
experience.
“As the preference for digital payouts continues growing, buyers
deserve the same choice and convenience they experience elsewhere
in their lives as a fundamental part of their homebuying journey,”
said Melissa Hentschel, Chief Client Officer of Onbe. “By
leveraging a digital payout gateway, mortgage, title and escrow
companies can offer a secure refund experience driven by choice and
preference, creating a more seamless experience for
homebuyers.”
Additional findings from Onbe’s Spring 2024 Title, Escrow and
Mortgage Payments Survey include:
- Virtual prepaid cards are the most preferred digital option
among consumers when receiving a refund from their mortgage
lender.
- Accuracy (28%), convenience (28%) and choice (17%) are the most
important factors for buyers when receiving a refund payment
related to a home loan.
- 41% of consumers received a refund from their title and escrow
due to overpaid closing costs, resulting in a balance in their
account.
With digital solutions, companies can streamline and automate
existing payment processes and offload the fraud risk and
compliance burden associated with issuing refunds by check. Onbe’s
payout gateway makes it simple for companies to provide home buyers
and owners—over 65% of Americans as of 2022—with choice and
convenience when receiving their refund, a welcome experience as
they enjoy their new home or property.
You can learn more about Onbe’s payout solutions here.
About Onbe
With more than 25 years of industry experience and offices in
Chicago, Philadelphia and London, Onbe is a fintech that manages
and modernizes customer and workforce disbursements for corporate
clients ranging from mid-market to the Fortune 500. Onbe’s team of
experts and technology platform offers clients a turnkey solution
to offload their entire B2C payment operations, relieving them of
the cost, complexity and risk that come with orchestrating these
payments in-house. Backed by top-tier investors, Onbe delivers on
today’s consumer expectations for instant, digital and seamless
payments. To learn more, visit www.onbe.com and follow us on
LinkedIn.
Methodology
The Spring 2024 Title, Escrow and Mortgage Payments Survey is
the sixth iteration of Onbe’s monthly payments market research
survey. The purpose of this particular survey is to learn how
consumers prefer to receive escrow and mortgage refunds and to
better understand the challenges they currently face when receiving
these payments. Respondents were asked to complete a survey with 19
questions during January of 2024. We received a total of 1037
responses with a 41% qualifying rate, collected from across the
United States and from demographics reflective of national
diversity. Respondents must have been at least 18 years of age to
qualify for the survey; another piece of qualifying criteria
consisted of respondents needing to have received a refund from
their title, escrow or mortgage company.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240521172375/en/
Joseph Netto, Sr. Director of Communications
Joseph.netto@onbe.com