Bias-Free Mortgage
Company
Achroma
Business Model
B2C SaaS
Industry
Mortgages
Problem
Minority groups frequently encounter challenges in securing fair mortgages, facing denials or unfair terms based on demographics rather than financial qualifications.
Fast Facts:
Gay couples were 73 percent more likely to be denied a mortgage than heterosexual couples with the same financial worthiness, according to an analysis of national mortgage data from 1990 to 2015.
Washington Post ›
In the St. Louis area, white residents make up 75% of the population, but received 83% of the mortgage loans. African American residents are 18% of the population, but receive only 4% of the loans.
Housingwire ›
A [2018] UC Berkeley study found that online and face-to-face lenders charge higher interest rates to African American and Latino borrowers, earning 11 to 17 percent higher profits on such loans. All told, those homebuyers pay up to half a billion dollars more in interest every year than white borrowers with comparable credit scores do, researchers found.
Research Process
Drawing inspiration from platforms like Better Mortgage and TurboTax, known for their user-friendly interfaces and streamlined workflows, the research phase emphasized the importance of a conversational layout, intuitive design elements, and a streamlined data entry processes.
Basic Information
Introduced a kanban-style interface to track leads in a linear format, collecting additional information each step of the way.
Offered 2 kinds of views; kanban columns and a list view.
Offered the ability to send in-app emails and texts for streamlined efficient communication.
To-Do List Dashboard
A centralized dashboard allows users to track their progress and remaining steps.
Wizard Flow
The design is based on a typical sales pipeline, where an opportunity gets taken from column to column to track the progress. Along the way, additional details are added as the opportunity gets warmer. In this version, there were additional filtering fields that were deemed unnecessary or they were refactored to be consolidated.
Conclusion
The implementation of the wizard-style workflow significantly enhanced the user experience of applying for a mortgage through Achroma's platform. By prioritizing ease of use, transparency, and inclusivity, Achroma continues to lead the industry in providing fair and equitable mortgage solutions to all demographics.