Case study · Lending
Applications to decisions without paper
Lenders lose applicants to slow, paper-heavy processes. This is how we built a digital origination portal with online applications, document upload, identity and credit checks, an underwriting workflow and a complete audit trail.
Project overview
Digital origination with an underwriting workflow.
- Industry
- Lending
- Client
- Confidential
- Solution
- Loan origination
- Platform
- Web portal + workflow
- Timeline
- 16–24 weeks
- Team
- 5 people
- Checks
- Identity, credit, affordability
- Audit
- Full decision trail
- Integration
- Loan management system
Expected business outcomes
What the client set out to achieve
Time to decision and completion rates are the measures.
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30–60%
Faster time to decision
Online applications and automated checks remove waiting.
Target range; depends on underwriting complexity
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Higher
Application completion rate
Save-and-return and mobile-friendly forms.
Measured against paper or email process
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Complete
Audit trail
Every check, document and decision recorded.
For compliance review
Business challenges
Where the client started
Applications by email and PDF forms.
Applications
PDF forms emailed back, often incomplete.
Documents
Bank statements and IDs sent by email.
Checks
Identity and credit checks run separately.
Underwriting
Case files in shared folders.
Compliance
Decisions hard to evidence afterwards.
Proposed solution
What the portal covers
Applicant experience and underwriting workflow together.
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Online application
Step-by-step application with save-and-return.
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Document upload
Secure upload with checks for completeness.
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Identity and credit checks
Checks through regulated providers, results attached to the case.
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Underwriting workflow
Queues, tasks and referral rules for underwriters.
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Decisions and offers
Decisions, conditions and offers issued digitally.
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Audit trail
Full history of every case for compliance.
Project requirements
What the client asked us for
The request was faster decisions. The design keeps underwriters in control while automating collection and checks.
Compliance is involved from the start, so the audit trail matches what regulators expect.
What the project had to deliver
- 01Mobile-friendly applications
- 02Automated checks
- 03Underwriting in one workflow
- 04Complete audit trail
Key challenges & considerations
What made it harder, and what we did
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Regulatory requirements
What we did
Compliance was involved from the first workshop, and every decision was recorded.
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Third-party check providers
What we did
Check providers were integrated behind a single interface.
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Complex product rules
What we did
Product rules were held as configuration.
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Integration with loan management
What we did
Approved applications passed to the loan management system through its API.
What we watched for
- Involve compliance early
- Design for save-and-return
- Keep underwriters in control
- Record every decision
Development process
Compliance-first delivery
Rules and evidence requirements are agreed before building.
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Process and compliance
Application, checks and decision rules agreed.
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Applicant portal
Application and document upload built.
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Checks
Identity and credit integrations.
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Underwriting
Workflow and decisioning.
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Launch
Pilot product first, then others.
Technology stack
Secure web platform
Built for financial services security expectations.
Front end
- React or Next.js
- TypeScript
- Accessible design system
Back end
- Node.js or .NET
- PostgreSQL or SQL Server
- REST / GraphQL APIs
Cloud
- Azure or AWS
- Managed databases
- CDN
Quality
- Automated tests
- CI/CD
- Monitoring and alerts
Quality assurance & deployment
Tested every sprint, released without drama
Testing ran alongside the build, not after it. Every feature was checked against its acceptance criteria in the sprint it was built in, and releases went through an automated pipeline.
- Automated unit and API tests, run on every change
- Code review by a second engineer before anything was merged
- Feature testing against written acceptance criteria
- Cross-browser and responsive checks on the agreed devices
- Security checks on access, sessions and data handling
Deployment
- 01UnderwritingWorkflow and decisioning.
- 02LaunchPilot product first, then others.
- 03Automated release pipelineThe same build moved from staging to production, with a tested rollback.
- 04Monitoring and warrantyError and uptime monitoring from day one, and six months of free bug fixing.
Final deliverables
Decisions in days, evidence forever
Applicants apply online, documents and checks arrive complete and underwriters decide faster from one workflow.
Every decision is fully evidenced for compliance.
- Online applications
- Automated checks
- Underwriting workflow
- Audit trail
Handed over to the client
- 01Production applicationDeployed and monitored
- 02Source codeIn a repository the client can access
- 03Technical documentationArchitecture, setup and deployment
- 04Test suite and pipelineSo later changes stay safe
- 05Six-month warrantyFree bug fixing after delivery
Success metrics
How success is measured
| Measure | Outcome | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|
| Faster time to decision | 30–60% | Target range; depends on underwriting complexity |
| Application completion rate | Higher | Measured against paper or email process |
| Audit trail | Complete | For compliance review |
Verified reviews
What clients say about our web development work
Verified reviews from our clients on the same kind of work, published on Clutch.
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Web Development
Custom Web Development for a Software Solutions Company
We can rely on them to handle almost any task with confidence, as they consistently deliver good results.
Casper Hougaard Jensen
CEO & Co-Founder, Iterator IT Jul 2021 – Sep 2022
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Web Development
Web & Mobile App Development for a Software Development Company
They efficiently organized tasks and deliverables while promptly addressing questions.
Damien Retzinger
Founder, Graycore Jun 2021 – Feb 2023
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Web Development
Website Development for a Software Engineering Company
They have a broad understanding of different technologies.
Eugene Bosikov CEO, Ezibeline LLC Mar 2022 – Ongoing Verified review on Clutch (Eugene Bosikov, opens in a new tab)
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