Digital technology refers to the tools, systems, and devices that can generate, create, store, or process data. They help us learn, communicate with each other and have fun, both at work and in our everyday lives.

These systems and devices are often computers or smartphones and they can process, transmit and store data – such as text, images or sounds  – digitally in a binary format (which helps us to standardise it).

We already use digital technology in many parts of our lives. It is a journey, and there is still a long way to go.

It can be useful to think about the concept of digital technology across three different time horizons:

• Digitisation – fix the past

Digitising assets is the process of converting analogue data, such as documents, photos and papers into a digital form, which can be held more securely and standardised. An example is scanning your old photographs or old client documents to ensure you have a digital copy on your system.

• Digitalisation – focus on the present

Digitalisation refers to the way that businesses and consumers use digital technologies right now to improve business processes and operations or day-to-day life. Examples of this might include using digital ID verification or harnessing API technology to make an application direct from a sourcing system straight to a lender. It leads to business efficiencies, even if it requires some upfront investment.

• Digital transformation – creating the future

Digital transformation is more forward-looking. It’s having a comprehensive business strategy to use digital technologies to transform your business model and the experiences of your clients.

That last one sounds a bit grandiose, doesn’t it? Instead, it might help to think of the three time horizons as a pathway.

First, it makes sense to digitise your assets if you haven’t already. It protects them against theft or damage at the very least.

Then, once you have all of your data stored digitally, you can use it to help better understand your business and digitalise your processes to become more efficient.

That all leads to digital transformation, but it’s a journey, and it could take years.

A good example is the work currently being undertaken to revolutionise end-to-end housing transactions.

Last month, the government announced it will modernise the property buying process, opening up key property information and ensuring this data can be shared between trusted professionals more easily. It launched a 12-week project to identify the design and implementation of agreed rules on data for the sector and 10-month pilots with councils to identify the best approach to opening up more of their data and making it digital. This work will be carried out in conjunction with the Digital Property Market Steering Group – a collection of industry and government experts committed to digitalising the home buying and selling process and delivering this change

The Open Property Data Association, for example, is already digitising existing assets across the housing industry, including paper property records and deeds into a digital format.

Then we can standardise the format which makes it much easier to transmit, verify and store trusted data. And that means we only need to collect the data once rather than multiple times through the chain.

Meanwhile, Coadjute is digitalising existing business processes, models and operations. It is doing this by integrating digital technologies to transform the existing homebuying journey to leverage shared ledger technology. This is a type of blockchain and is similar to building rails on which digitised data assets can be transported and stored securely.

Everyone working with these two organisations, including Halifax, is helping to create a new digital ecosystem which will deliver tangible change to the homebuying process.

Digital transformation goes one step further. This is a longer-term strategy for Halifax for example, involving the integration of digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and cloud computing to drive innovation, optimise processes and create new business models.

But it always comes back to delivering better value and improving the customer journey.

You might be thinking that you don’t have the time, resources or money to invest in all of the above, but all businesses are going digital in one way or another, just on different scales.

There’s probably lots you’ve already done without realising. It wasn’t that long ago that brokers were still posting documentation to lenders. And many of you now store your client data on your client relationship management (CRM) system, leaving your filing cabinets redundant.

But what else could you be doing?

1. Start by digitising your current assets if you haven’t already. That means becoming paperless and ensuring you have digital copies of your old paperwork.
2. You can then use this data to help you better understand your business. Look at your current processes and where they can be improved, for example, your split in borrower type, which lenders you are using and your conversion rates. Knowledge is power after all.
3. Once you know what you want to do better, you can use digital technology to help. Brokers are great at the human element of advising clients on their mortgage options while technology is brilliant at streamlining workflows, driving efficiencies, spotting fraud and helping businesses to scale.

We know from our discussion with brokers that you want to know about practical changes you can make, so here are some examples:

• Be open-minded about using application programming interface (API) technology to run a decision in principle (DIP) or full application from your CRM or sourcing system. Ultimately it will be quicker, easier and more accurate, even if it takes a bit of time to get used to.
• Consider using webchat to communicate with lenders. It might save you time on some if not all of your enquiries.
• Use AI anti-fraud software for 100% document verification and consider digital ID verification.
• Consider an AI assistant to capture and summarise meeting minutes or book appointments.
• Use digital technology to automate admin tasks and AI to help with staff training.

We know tech is expensive and it takes time to embed new systems into your existing processes, It’s no wonder that some brokers are wary of embracing change until they are sure of the benefits.

But the message is loud and clear for all of us. Adapt your business or fall behind, because the rest of the mortgage industry and the housing market is going digital.

For the use of mortgage intermediaries and other professionals only

The information contained in this article is the property of Lloyds Banking Group plc and may not be reused or publicised without our prior permission. The information provided is intended to be for information only and is not intended to be relied upon. This information is correct as of February 2025 and is relevant to Halifax products and services only. If you do not have professional experience, you should not rely on the information contained in this communication. If you are a professional and you reproduce any part of the information contained in this communication, to be used with or to advise private clients, you must ensure it conforms to the Financial Conduct Authority’s advising and selling rules.

Halifax is a division of Bank of Scotland plc. Registered in Scotland No. SC327000. Registered Office: The Mound, Edinburgh EH1 1YZ. Bank of Scotland plc is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority under registration number 169628.