Brokers say tech has streamlined admin but added new pressures. The next phase may be about doing less, better
Mortgage brokers are working more efficiently than ever, but many still feel under pressure. As platforms promise faster processing and fewer manual tasks, advisers say they’re handling more cases with less admin. But not all feel the benefits. So where has technology genuinely helped – and where has it added friction?
Simon Horsfall and Dan Rathbone of Binder, and Scott Tyzack of Tall, say the real challenge isn’t the technology itself, it’s how it’s adopted, structured, and aligned with the way brokers work.
Tech can help, if it’s used well
“Personally, I’d challenge the idea that brokers feel more stretched,” said Horsfall. “Technology has helped, but only when it’s embraced properly.”
For him, better systems have meant more business without more stress. “They allow the business to keep trading and turnover to improve without increasing day-to-day stress,” he said. “You’re not worrying about leaving files behind, or missing information when you’re out and about.”
Where brokers do feel stretched, Tyzack believes it often comes down to poor integration. “Advisers were probably using three or four different bits of technology that didn’t talk to each other,” he said. “That’s likely where the feeling of being stretched comes from.”
Horsfall added that duplication is still a major issue. “You might input the same data five or six times just to get to a mortgage offer. If you can streamline that and only do it twice, you reduce errors and save time.”
What human-centred tech looks like in real terms
As broker platforms evolve, some advisers are questioning whether “human-centred” design is more than a label.
“Clients mainly want to know how their mortgage is progressing and how quickly it’s moving,” said Horsfall. “It’s an emotional process, and they’re focused on the end goal: getting the house.”
He said many clients interact in quick moments throughout the day. “They’re uploading documents from their phone while sitting at home or on the train, so everything needs to be mobile-friendly and intuitive.”
Clear, proactive communication benefits brokers too. “You can give updates before clients chase you, rather than reacting after the fact,” he said.
Rathbone added that technology should support, not replace, personal interaction. “Technology should remove drudgery and free up time so advisers can spend more time with clients, not less. If anything, there should be more personal contact.”
Tyzack said that plain, familiar language makes a difference. “It mirrors the real conversations brokers have with clients. That means clients understand what they’re being asked to do, and advisers can instinctively navigate the system because the language feels familiar.”
Horsfall noted that this is often overlooked in the way tools are built. “A lot of platforms haven’t been built by advisers. Some are built by compliance teams, and the way compliance professionals think and communicate can be very different from how advisers actually work with clients.”
It’s not the tech brokers fear, it’s the change
Brokers rarely resist technology itself, said Rathbone, but they often struggle with the disruption it brings.
“Most advisers we speak to know technology can help them and want to use it,” he said. “The fear comes from the change required to use it properly.”
That change usually means breaking long-standing habits. “They have to stop using handwritten notebooks, spreadsheets, and standard email templates they’ve relied on for years,” he said. “That’s an organisational transformation, and that’s the scary part.”
Switching mid-flow also creates friction. “You’ve always got multiple cases running at once,” said Horsfall. “That makes it hard to draw a clean line where you switch from one system to another without overlap.”
Security concerns also crop up, but he said they’re often misplaced. “People worry about security, for example, yet they’re often emailing sensitive documents as attachments, which is far less secure than a protected portal.”
What brokers need next: space, not features
As digital platforms mature, brokers say they don’t need more tools, they need fewer distractions. “If advisers only use six features regularly, there’s no point having fifty buttons on screen. That’s how systems become over-complicated,” said Horsfall.
Rathbone said that efficiency isn't just about speed, it’s about mental energy. “If you used to handle ten cases a month and now you can handle twenty, your work in progress doubles,” he said. “That can make you feel stretched because you’ve got more going on in your head at once.”
What brokers do with that time, he added, should be their decision. “Some will take on more business. Others will keep the same workload and spend more time with family or outside work. We’re careful not to push one narrative over the other.”
Tyzack said that for any system to be helpful, it must reflect how advisers actually work. “You know what advisers need to see on the first screen, and how processes should flow to give them clarity and space,” he said.
The future of broker tech may not be about new functionality at all, but about giving advisers room to focus on the parts of the job that still rely on expertise, judgement, and time with clients.
