It is the first agreement between the financial entity and a proptech to operate under the banking as a service model (Banking as a Service, or BaaS).
Via Portafolio.com
Bancolombia joins Habi as an allied bank to strengthen its portfolio of financial services
Bancolombia announced that it established an alliance with Habi, a buyer and seller of used homes in Colombia, which will make it easier for families interested in buying a home to access the mortgage or home leasing product they need.
The alliance between the unicorn Habi, and Bancolombia, will consist of the technological integration for the placement of financial products. Under this structure, Habi fully attends to its clients in their credit process.
With this service, people who buy a Habi home will be able to directly access financing in a simple and safe way, without having to go to a bank branch or worrying about a complex process. This unifies the search for property and financing in Habi, reducing pre-approval, application, approval and disbursement times.
The companies will begin to work under the BaaS model in housing, which shows the progress of the proptech sector in the country and the materialization of products focused on on customer needs. In this model, traditional banking makes its services available to startups through technology to offer more and better solutions that suit all customers, strengthening the banking ecosystem.
“What we seek with this alliance is to provide simple and safe solutions to our clients. With it, they will be able to access financing for their home in record time and without complications. This alliance is part of our plan to strengthen and enhance our offer of financial services with Habicredit, which is today one of our main offers”, said Germán Rueda, General Manager of Habicredit Colombia.
Homebuyers will obtain preferential support at no additional cost, where a financial agent will take care of the entire process, including documentation and legalization. The client will only need to authorize Habi to process the mortgage on his or her behalf, and Habi will keep him or her informed about each step until disbursement.
“Proptech has added value by contributing to the dynamism and transformation of the real estate ecosystem, which is why for Bancolombia this alliance with Habi is a sign of our interest in continuing to promote the development of the sector. In this alliance we seek to complement Habi’s value proposition with our financial capabilities, so that users have access to comprehensive solutions for home purchase, thus materializing our purpose of promoting sustainable development for the well-being of all,” says Cristina Arrastía, Vice President of Business at Bancolombia.
With this alliance, Habi continues its focus on the mission of giving Colombians access and liquidity in the home buying and selling through simple and secure processes. In recent months, the Colombian proptech has expanded its product portfolio to financial services, positioning Habicredit as one of the largest originators of mortgage loans in the country.