The Intermediary – October 2026 - Flipbook - Page 40
I N T E RV I E W
experience or track record, and who need
more support.”
In general terms, while the more established
cohort may be less willing to disrupt the
existing status quo with new tech – especially
if they feel previous evolutions have failed to
deliver – the younger section may be more
likely to factor AI into their everyday lives.
This is where Richardson sees great room for
change, using AI to not only streamline admin
tasks for these brokers, but to help train up the
next generation.
Broker Hub’s multi-DIP capability allows
brokers to submit to several lenders
simultaneously, lessening the potential reliance
on a smaller selection of trusted lenders and
helping them consider all the options available
in the pursuit of good customer outcomes.
Richardson says: “The reason [a broker] goes
to one [lender] is because it’s a huge drain of
time, and they know they will get the answer
they need. Whereas this way, it’s a lot less of
a drain of time, and you can put it out to more
lenders and see what results come back.”
Filling in the gaps
The Broker Hub is an example of the kind of
connective tech available now. Richardson has
an even more ambitious vision for the future of
the market. For example, where some specialist
lenders struggle to gain visibility through
traditional sourcing systems, these tools could
create a more nuanced approach, which will in
turn have an impact on competition.
Richardson says: “I’ve spoken to lots of
[lenders]. Lots think that multi-DIP would be
better for them as they get to complete more
business, but they also recognise that this
could start screwing up some of their data
that they work on today, and their metrics.
So, there’s a potential change in the industry
because of just that one little thing.”
Longer-term, he believes this tech could
be instrumental in bringing criteria further
forward into the sourcing process, as well as
reducing the reliance on in-person meetings
and roadshows in order to tout particular
products on an individual and varied basis.
Future iterations of this technology could
vastly improve the chance for comprehensive
product matching and intelligent sourcing.
“It’s not a place we’re in today, but it’s a place
that’s perfectly doable with the technology
that we have,” Richardson explains.
“We don’t need to invent something new,
and we don’t actually really need to change
regulation, although that would help in certain
cases, like property information. If you’ve
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The Intermediary | October 2026
When the broker isn’t
having to key in a case, chase a
BDM and argue about whether
the lending policy is correct and
see whether they’ll underwrite it
or not, they’re able to make sure
that it’s the right product”
got smart property data, you can pull that in
straight away. It will raise questions about
what the DIP actually brings to the industry, at
that point. We’ve got to work all those things
through over the next couple of years.”
The other place where he sees tech
revolutionising the market is compliance and
training. Where previously, compliance checks
and training might include a human being
taking the time to listen to a proportion of
calls – with varying degrees of effectiveness
depending on their skill and attentiveness,
or even the time of day – AI can take a more
standardised approach.
Finova is developing AI-based analysis of
broker calls, which can be assessed against
standards of good practice, identify individual
strengths or weaknesses, help brokers spot
product blindspots or missed questions. It can
even be used to flag where a case should be
routed to a different broker with specific skills.
Richardson says: “This is not about Big
Brother, it’s about saying ‘this guy is doing
brilliantly at this, but doesn’t understand that’.
“We see a lot of calls where one customer
will come in with a complex case, the broker
will pick it up because they’re the next person
available. It doesn’t matter if they’re able to
do it because the form on the front is just very
simple. They will put it out to one lender that
they think might do it, it comes back with a no,
and they’ll move on to the next case because
it’s too hard.
“That’s bad for the industry, it’s bad for the
customer, it’s bad for service and support.
“So, we need to be able to train them, and
we need to be able to understand that this
call was complicated and it should be routed
somewhere else. The first person should
shadow someone else for these types of cases.
“Analytics, backed by good rules around
what’s good and what’s bad, is available today.
