Driving innovation in Canada’s mortgage industry
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Axiom Innovations has been at the forefront of the tech revolution across the mortgage space – and the huge influence of its solutions is clear
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WHEN IT comes to describing the wide reach and influence of Axiom Innovations and its white-labelled Scarlett brand in the mortgage industry, an anecdote told by the company’s business development manager Andrew Schultz is particularly revealing.
A few years ago, the company met with a prospective client who was evaluating different technology solutions for his business, weighing up various options before making a final decision. Ultimately deciding to go with Scarlett, he made a comment that, for Schultz, says it all about how Axiom has influenced the industry’s technology landscape: “All roads lead back to Joe Fakhri.”
Axiom Innovations is a technology company that specializes in identifying synergies to help clients accelerate their business. The organization has a range of solutions and services to allow users to automate their workflow, including Scarlett Network, a widely adopted platform for mortgage brokers and lenders across Canada’s mortgage industry.
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“Rather than spending 20 or 30 minutes completing their application, [consumers] want to do it in five or six. That’s where we strive to shorten the mortgage transaction as much as possible”
Joe Fakhri,
Axiom Innovations
That’s a reference to Axiom’s president and chief executive officer, who has overseen an era of rapid growth for the mortgage-broker technology solution that’s seen it emerge as one of the most prominent broker platforms in Canada.
The Scarlett brand has been adopted by multiple organizations and networks within the industry, with its Deal Origination System (DOS) and payroll platforms widely used even before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the tech revolution it heralded.
In many ways, that software was ahead of its time. While the pandemic accelerated the need for innovative, integrated tech solutions, Fakhri told Canadian Mortgage Professional that his company had long been aware of the need to provide technology for the industry that could be used anywhere, anytime.
“Our organization itself was built around the concept that technology should be available to use remotely or from the office if you have a proper internet connection and some level of security,” he explained.
“When the pandemic hit, we were the quickest organization to adapt to the changes, and the best-suited organization to deal
with the new reality – because we had been ready ever since 2015 or 2016. We were structured for it, and we knew all the ins and outs of what it takes to work remotely and securely.”
A closer look at Scarlett
The DOS is a one-stop shop for agents, brokers, managers, team leaders, or broker-owners, allowing them to get a full-scale view of their business and manage each component of the origination process, from mortgage application through to submission and compliance.
That includes integrations with functions like e-signatures, bank statements, and CRA requests, meaning agents and brokers no longer need to manage multiple different platforms. The company’s payroll system, meanwhile, is also fully integrated with various origination systems – and the process is completely automated, allowing broker-owners or administrators to reduce substantially the amount of time spent processing payroll.
“They can now focus that time on more revenue-generating activities or something that is adding more value to the brokerage,” said Schultz. “Where we would see somebody processing eight to 10 hours of payroll a week, we’re now able to cut that down to about two or three hours.
“Where we would see somebody processing eight to 10 hours of payroll a week, we’re now able to cut that down to about two or three hours”
Andrew Schultz,
Axiom Innovations
“You can imagine how those extra hours back in your week allocated to more productive uses of time have allowed brokerages to really flourish.”
While digital advancements have become even more central to the mortgage process journey in recent years, Fakhri emphasized the importance of recognizing that consumers don’t simply want technology for technology’s sake. Rather, they value the speed and convenience that technology can add to a transaction such as a mortgage.
“Consumers are looking to do the least amount of work possible to send in a transaction,” he said. “They don’t necessarily want to submit a very long application. Rather than spending 20 or 30 minutes completing their application, they want to do it in five or six. That’s where we strive to shorten the mortgage transaction as much as possible.”
Trust and security are also key components of what consumers want from their tech solution, something that’s remained a “core belief” at Axiom – resulting in the development of procedures and technologies to ensure that all parts of the customer journey are as secure as possible to give brokers and their clients a certain comfort level.
Focusing on what’s important
While much work remains to be done to further streamline and optimize the mortgage transaction, the Scarlett software has helped the process come on in leaps and bounds, especially where automation is concerned.
“We have brought about some significant advancements,” Fakhri said. “We’ve shortened the transaction life cycle. Our system is so efficient that it has actually cut the processing time significantly – over 60 per cent of transactions submitted close within DOS, compared with the industry standard of about 50 per cent.”
A popular tagline at the company neatly sums up the service
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“Our system is so efficient that it has actually cut the processing time significantly – over 60% of transactions submitted close within DOS, compared with the industry standard of about 50%”
Joe Fakhri,
Axiom Innovations
“Our system is so efficient that it has actually cut the processing time significantly – over 60% of transactions submitted close within DOS, compared with the industry standard of about 50%”
Joe Fakhri,
Axiom Innovations
“Our system is so efficient that it has actually cut the processing time significantly – over 60% of transactions submitted close within DOS, compared with the industry standard of about 50%”
Joe Fakhri,
Axiom Innovations
Key executives
Joe Fakhri
• responsible for overall strategy within the organization
• focuses on building strategic relationships with big clients
• involved with every aspect of the business: sales, product development, customer support, strategic relationships, and more.
president and CEO
Andrew Schultz
• serves clients nationally across all brands
• builds relationships with network partners across Canada
• introduces and guides clients through the journey of adapting technology across major platforms
business development manager
Features of Scarlett Network
• loan and deal origination/point of sale – including credit bureau requests and more
• payroll and commissions processing – affording support for payout models including splits, flat fees, per deal fees and more
• corporate and agent website – offering desktop and mobile websites for firms, teams, and agents
• customer relationship management – allowing deal flow management and automatic push/pull to and from expert
Scarlett can offer to brokers and agents: “Don’t let your business run you. Run your business.” Rather than replacing the mortgage professional, the tools in place allow them to free up time to do what they’re best at doing: building the relationship with the client, understanding their needs, and leveraging technology to make themselves more efficient and consistent.
“By using the platform, we’re optimizing the performance of an agent,” Schultz said. “They can now focus on what it is that they do best without letting the day-to-day operation within their business run their day.
“Leveraging our technology frees brokers up and allows them to be consistent and confident that our solutions will support whatever they’re trying to accomplish.”
A leading name in the space
With over 290 lenders connected to the Scarlett platform to date, Axiom also has a strong presence among Canada’s lending community, and while a one-stop shop for lenders appears some way away, the company is ever-focused on optimizing the transaction process for lending institutions, too.
What truly sets Axiom apart, Fakhri and Schultz agree, is its long-standing pedigree in the industry and the vast experience it’s built since it started out in 2009. The company is on track to affect all 15,000 active agents
across the country, Fakhri said, such has been the reach of its solutions.
“Our shop, in my own opinion, is one of the most experienced in the space,” he said. “We have a wealth of knowledge, we understand all the best practices and pain points. We’ve been involved with almost every network, every brokerage across the entire country.
“We know the space incredibly well – and it takes years and years to accumulate the knowledge that we have.”
Key executives
Joe Fakhri
• responsible for overall strategy within the organization
• focuses on building strategic relationships with big clients
• involved with every aspect of the business: sales, product development, customer support, strategic relationships, and more.
president and CEO
Andrew Schultz
• serves clients nationally across all brands
• builds relationships with network partners across Canada
• introduces and guides clients through the journey of adapting technology across major platforms
business development manager