\Deeptech News/ AI that can make mortgage decisions in 15 minutes M:Qube, a new fintech startup, plans to shake up the £270bn UK home loans market starting early next year with faster home loan decisions. By Maija Palmer 7 November 2019 Credit: Stuart Cheetham and Richard Fitch, cofounders of M:Qube Credit: Stuart Cheetham and Richard Fitch, cofounders of M:Qube \Deeptech Robotic process automation platform UiPath hits a $35bn valuation By Michael Stothard 1 February 2021 \Deeptech News/ AI that can make mortgage decisions in 15 minutes M:Qube, a new fintech startup, plans to shake up the £270bn UK home loans market starting early next year with faster home loan decisions. By Maija Palmer 7 November 2019 Artificial intelligence that can make a mortgage decision in 15 minutes — that is the proposition that M:QUBE, a new fintech startup, plans to use to shake up the £270bn UK home loans market from early next year. The UK mortgage market is still heavily dominated by the “big six” consumer banks and mortgage decisions can still take weeks to process. “It is the last bastion of the financial services industry that has not been innovated,” says Stuart Cheetham, cofounder and chief executive. Cheetham and his cofounder Richard Fitch have raised a £5m seed round from investors, including Allianz-backed venture capital fund AV8, IQ Capital and JamJar Investments, to support the launch. A number of startups have tackled aspects of the mortgage market; for example, online mortgage brokers Habito and Trussle have entered the market, and Habito has also recently started offering loans. M:QUBE is also going beyond broking to actually issuing the mortgages, and will look to work in partnership with financial institutions who will supply the capital. It will act as a lender, holding the mortgage deeds. Its model is similar to Rocket Mortgage in the US, which was launched five years ago and has since become one of the country’s biggest mortgage lenders. In Europe the closest competitor is Sweden’s Lendify, which offers low-cost personal loans and is looking to move into mortgages. M:QUBE’s unique selling point is that it uses artificial intelligence to extract data more quickly about borrowers than conventional lenders. Cheetham says the company will typically collect five to seven times more data than conventional mortgage lenders, mainly extracted from bank statements, to help decide if a customer really can afford the loan they are seeking. The company also collects data on the property being mortgaged — everything from flood risk to nearby rail links — to get an accurate valuation. Cheetham, who was previously responsible for Lloyds Bank’s banking operations in Asia, says the company plans to expand the service to the rest of Europe if the UK launch goes well. Want the best of Sifted in your inbox? Our newsletter brings you the latest, greatest stories on startup Europe. Sign up Terms of Use Related Articles Could objects designed by robots change the world? By Freya Pratty Click here to read more Atomico launches third angel programme By Amy Lewin Click here to read more “Netflix for wine” Vivino raises $155m By Freya Pratty Click here to read more New startup Mindstone wants to “turn the internet into a textbook” By Freya Pratty Click here to read more Get the best of Sifted in your inbox By entering your email you agree to Sifted’s Terms of Use Sign up to \Future Proof Sifted’s weekly \Corporate Innovation roundup email By entering your email you agree to Sifted’s Terms of Use Most Read 1 Member \Fintech Meet the TransferWise ‘mafia’: The employees turned entrepreneurs 2 Member \Corporate Innovation Exclusive: Barclays pulls plug on flagship payments app Pingit 3 \Startup Life Staff love working from home. Bosses… not so much 4 Member \Venture Capital Early investors in UiPath on track to make a 220,000% return 5 \Venture Capital Investors love data. So why not dig into sustainability metrics? 1 Join the conversation Subscribe newest oldest most voted Notify of new follow-up comments new replies to my comments JimThis is interesting post about AI mortgage…
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