Welcoming Buyers Home: Digital Escrow and Mortgage Payouts Preferred By Homeowners

92% of respondents agreed that receiving a digital refund would be more convenient compared to physical payments, such as checks.

Onbe, a leading corporate payouts platform, recently published its Spring 2024 Title, Escrow and Mortgage Payments Survey, highlighting that home buyers overwhelmingly prefer digital payouts. 92% of respondents stated receiving a digital refund would be more convenient compared to waiting for a check in the mail. In an April 2024 Freddie Mac report, the mortgage market saw a 3.9% month-over-month increase in activity, with a 5.9% increase in refinancing activity and a 3.2% month-over-month increase in purchase applications. With 50% of homeowners having received a title, escrow or mortgage refund, there is a significant opportunity for companies in this space to meet the preferences of consumers by providing them with the instant and convenient payout experiences they desire.

According to the Onbe survey of homeowners across the U.S., more than half (54%) of respondents who have escrow accounts reported receiving a refund from their mortgage service provider. In addition to escrow refunds, 61% of homeowners received a mortgage payment refund after their loan was sold to a new lender. Homeowners’ refund experiences did not match their payment preferences with 44% of respondents receiving their payout via a check in the mail. By delivering seamless digital payout options, mortgage, title and escrow companies to meet buyer’s evolving payment preferences and needs, helping improve their home-buying experience.

“As the preference for digital payouts continues growing, buyers deserve the same choice and convenience they experience elsewhere in their lives as a fundamental part of their homebuying journey,” said Melissa Hentschel, Chief Client Officer of Onbe. “By leveraging a digital payout gateway, mortgage, title and escrow companies can offer a secure refund experience driven by choice and preference, creating a more seamless experience for homebuyers.”

Additional findings from Onbe’s Spring 2024 Title, Escrow and Mortgage Payments Survey include:

• Virtual prepaid cards are the most preferred digital option among consumers when receiving a refund from their mortgage lender.
• Accuracy (28%), convenience (28%) and choice (17%) are the most important factors for buyers when receiving a refund payment related to a home loan.
• 41% of consumers received a refund from their title and escrow due to overpaid closing costs, resulting in a balance in their account.

With digital solutions, companies can streamline and automate existing payment processes and offload the fraud risk and compliance burden associated with issuing refunds by check. Onbe’s payout gateway makes it simple for companies to provide home buyers and owners—over 65% of Americans as of 2022—with choice and convenience when receiving their refund, a welcome experience as they enjoy their new home or property.

You can learn more about Onbe’s payout solutions here.

About Onbe

With more than 25 years of industry experience and offices in Chicago, Philadelphia and London, Onbe is a fintech that manages and modernizes customer and workforce disbursements for corporate clients ranging from mid-market to the Fortune 500. Onbe’s team of experts and technology platform offers clients a turnkey solution to offload their entire B2C payment operations, relieving them of the cost, complexity and risk that come with orchestrating these payments in-house. Backed by top-tier investors, Onbe delivers on today’s consumer expectations for instant, digital and seamless payments. To learn more, visit www.onbe.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

Methodology

The Spring 2024 Title, Escrow and Mortgage Payments Survey is the sixth iteration of Onbe’s monthly payments market research survey. The purpose of this particular survey is to learn how consumers prefer to receive escrow and mortgage refunds and to better understand the challenges they currently face when receiving these payments. Respondents were asked to complete a survey with 19 questions during January of 2024. We received a total of 1037 responses with a 41% qualifying rate, collected from across the United States and from demographics reflective of national diversity. Respondents must have been at least 18 years of age to qualify for the survey; another piece of qualifying criteria consisted of respondents needing to have received a refund from their title, escrow or mortgage company.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240521172375/en/