New lender Afin Bank announces streamlined broker experience

Afin Bank, a new bank created to help people from Africa and other foreign national communities living in the UK to get mortgages, has partnered with Nivo to implement its broker-facing technology.

Utilising Nivo’s technology solution to handle all broker interactions, Afin’s brokers will spend less time gathering data and documents by unifying all communications through one preferred channel when the lender fully launches later this year. 

Using Nivo’s broker-facing solution, which tackles all interactions from initial enquiry to fully packaged case, Afin will be able to offer a quicker and more efficient service to its intermediaries.

Borrowers from Africa and other diaspora communities living and working in the UK often struggle to get mortgages from mainstream lenders because of issues such as their visa status or lack of UK credit history. While designed with foreign nationals in mind, Afin Bank says its lending products may also be suitable for UK resident customers including high-net worth borrowers and self-employed workers.

Afin received its banking licence Authorisation with Restrictions (AwR) in October last year and is backed by African reinsurer WAICA Re, which has committed £62m to setting up the bank. It will offer a range of residential and buy-to-let mortgages this year alongside FSCS protected savings accounts. 

Alan Davison, chief commercial officer of Afin Bank, commented: "This partnership with Nivo highlights Afin Bank’s commitment to brokers and underserved borrowers. We’re building a lender from the ground up and that means selecting the best technology to support them. 

“Nivo’s messaging-first platform means brokers don’t have to learn a new system and it fits neatly with how they already work. It’s fast, intuitive and removes the pain points of traditional portals that make brokers bristle.

“Our goal is to remove barriers, make processes simpler and deliver an experience that brokers prefer, helping them to help their customers. With Nivo we’re ensuring that brokers can work seamlessly while maintaining security, compliance and efficiency. It’s the best way to enter the market with a broker-friendly proposition."

Matthew Elliott, founder of Nivo, added: “Brokers don’t want to juggle multiple logins, learn new interfaces, or be forced into using rigid workflows. Email persists because it’s the path of least resistance, but with Nivo, brokers get the best of both worlds; a seamless, structured messaging experience that feels as simple as email but without the inefficiencies. Using Nivo’s Verified Identity Messaging service, further speed, clarity, certainty and security are afforded to Afin Bank’s customer-base.“