The materials available in this article are for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact your own advisors with questions regarding the consumer lending software content herein. The opinions expressed in this article are the opinions of the individual authors and may not reflect the opinions of MeridianLink, Inc.
Quicker, more confident decisions begin with a smoother, simpler borrower experience.
Borrowing shouldn’t be an exercise in patience, but all too often, that’s exactly what it morphs into.
Loan applications that should be simple and straightforward take days to complete. Document requests get duplicated, causing confusion and slowdowns. Applicant questions go unseen and unanswered, driving viable relationships into competitor’s hands.
Friction can serve a purpose in loan origination when it comes to factors like fraud protection and borrower verification. But when it goes beyond security protocols and starts veering into excessive delays—even among qualified applicants—that friction directs those on the path to approval toward the nearest exit ramp.
Our Get More Consumers to Yes, Faster eBook explores how three lenders used MeridianLink® consumer lending software to remove the roadblocks unnecessarily slowing approval timelines and limiting growth.
48% of applicants who hit friction take their business elsewhere
The applicant experience sets the tone for your entire lending operation’s growth potential. Nobody wants to enter the same information ad nauseam. Nor do they want to wrestle their way through an application that takes you one step forward and then asks you to take two steps back.
When the experience isn’t up to expectations, borrowers will find a better option. And of the borrowers who choose to wade through less-than-ideal lending experiences, few will come back for another transaction in the future.
Building borrower momentum and carrying that momentum from first click to funding hinges on your ability to deliver a smooth application journey with clear direction. That connected journey is critical to developing lasting relationships and getting more qualified applicants across the finish line.
In the case of Salal Credit Union, creating that experience meant putting innovative consumer lending software and digital applications to work across three key priorities:
- Speeding up service
Members expect fast, mobile-first banking but Salal’s existing application workflows often required more steps than necessary and multiple touchpoints to complete, creating delays between submission and booking.
By upgrading from MeridianLink® Portal to MeridianLink® Access, Salal streamlined its application experience end to end. Application completion times dropped by 50%, conversion-to-completion rates rose 29%, and the application-to-booking timeline accelerated by 38%.
Qualified members reached decisions and funding sooner, keeping more opportunities moving toward captured business.
- Improving consistency and convenience
Alongside speed, Salal’s members expected an experience that felt intuitive no matter the product or channel. Limited configurability in the credit union’s previous solution made it difficult to fully optimize workflows or deliver the personalization members increasingly expect.
To that end, Salal tapped MeridianLink Access’s configurable tools, alongside MeridianLink Consulting’s Process Assessment service, to redesign its digital journey and launch all major product workflows simultaneously. With a smoother, more consistent path from application to decision, the credit union could now flex with member expectations rather than against them.
- Behind-the-scenes efficiency
A friction-heavy process strained Salal’s staff, too, with incomplete submissions generating follow-up and slowing decisions.
Streamlining the experience changed that. Members now complete more thorough applications up front, so employees spend less time chasing missing information and more time on the work that deepens relationships. That shift showed up in the numbers: new member Net Promoter Score climbed 27 points—from 61.11 to 88.24—and a single credit card campaign drew 21 applications in one weekend, compared with just three over the previous seven weeks.
With a more scalable digital foundation in place, Salal is positioned to keep nurturing every member relationship long after the first transaction closes.
Get More Consumers to Yes, Faster
Experience. Efficiency. Engagement. See how financial institutions are eliminating friction and accelerating the path to approval—and why these three essentials are key to building a lending experience that performs.
