Research by the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) suggested borrowers were still uncomfortable with the prospect of completing a mortgage application online.

But with plans underway for the launch of Atom, the UK’s first ‘digital bank’ with helpline services, the latest Mortgage Solutions People’s Poll asked if brokers felt their market share would be eroded by online mortgage applications.

Some 47% of respondents said that they would not take market share are customers will always seek advice but the remainder said online mortgages would begin to take off.

This vote was split with 15% expecting the online mortgage market to grow in the near future while the remaining 38% expected a shift online but only in the longer term.

The BBA report had highlighted how most direct mortgages are completed in a branch or over the phone, rather than online.

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Many customers begin the application process online but figures from Santander showed only 28% of customers would go on to complete the mortgage process exclusively using the web.

However HSBC said it was seeing a number of customers complete applications online, with one borrower completing the full process in 24 minutes. Although it said its online process was augmented by both phone and branch support.