Whether you want to lower your credit reporting costs, gain access to a broader range of solutions, or receive better customer support, you may consider switching credit providers. However, it’s important to choose the right provider, as the wrong one could leave you with:
- LOS integration challenges
- Lengthy implementation and retraining requirements
- Unexpected contract or transition costs
- Costly fees or service limitations
If you don’t do your due diligence, a switch that was supposed to save your lending operation time and money may create new operational challenges. That’s why choosing a new credit provider requires more than a high-level price comparison.
Below, we break down eight important questions to ask before switching mortgage credit providers and explain how to evaluate your options with confidence.
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Key Takeaways
- Before switching credit providers, it’s important to evaluate their service, technology, pricing, operational experience, and ability to support your lending workflows.
- Asking potential providers for specific performance metrics can help you determine whether they can deliver on their promises after you sign the contract.
- A formal evaluation process that includes your operations team can help you identify potential switching costs and select a provider that supports your long-term goals.
Why Do Mortgage Lenders Switch Credit Providers?
Before we explore how to evaluate potential providers, let’s examine why you may want to make the switch to begin with. Some of the most common reasons include:
- Rising costs: Increasing credit reporting or verification expenses may prompt you to explore providers that offer more competitive pricing or other opportunities to reduce your overall costs.
- Ongoing service issues: Slow response times, inconsistent turnaround times, or recurring support problems may signal that your current provider is no longer meeting your service expectations.
- Mergers and acquisitions: Major organizational changes may require you to reevaluate existing vendor relationships, consolidate providers, or find a credit partner that can support your organization after the transition.
- Product or technology gaps: As your lending needs change, you may discover that your current provider lacks the necessary solutions, integrations, or capabilities to support your workflows.
No matter what prompts your search, it’s important to remember that switching providers comes with its own costs and operational considerations. Depending on your existing setup, you may need to configure new integrations, adjust established workflows, train employees on new technology, and manage overlapping vendor contracts during the transition.
These switching costs don’t mean you should stay with a provider that no longer meets your needs. They simply reinforce the importance of carefully evaluating your options before making a change.
Read More: 7 Signs You’ve Outgrown Your Current Credit Provider
8 Questions to Ask Before Switching Credit Providers
When vetting potential providers, you shouldn’t limit your discussions to product features and pricing alone. You can evaluate potential credit providers more thoroughly by asking these eight questions:
#1 What Is Your Actual System Uptime?
Your lending team depends on mortgage technology to keep loan files moving. Even brief periods of unexpected downtime can disrupt your workflows and create frustrating delays for your borrowers.
Rather than accepting a provider’s general claims about their platform reliability, ask for their documented uptime percentage. This metric can give you a more objective way to compare providers and assess which one offers the level of reliability you require.
Read More: What Mortgage Executives Should Audit Every Quarter
#2 How Quickly Can I Reach Your Customer Support Team?
Responsive customer support can make or break your efficiency when you have an urgent question or troubleshooting issue. While most credit providers claim to have excellent service, you can evaluate those claims by asking for measurable performance data:
- What is your average response time?
- What percentage of calls does your support team answer within 30 seconds?
- How quickly do you typically resolve urgent support requests?
These specific service standards can give you a much better idea of the support experience you can expect after signing your contract.
Read More: What “Good Service” Actually Looks Like From a Credit Provider
#3 Who Will Support My Account After the Sale?
The person who helps you evaluate a credit provider isn’t necessarily the person you’ll work with after implementation. Before making a switch, find out what your ongoing account relationship will look like.
Will you have a dedicated point of contact who learns the ins and outs of your workflows and business objectives? Or will you need to explain your account and workflows to a different representative each time you reach out?
Understanding the provider’s post-sale support structure can help you determine whether you’re gaining a long-term partner or simply another vendor relationship to manage.
Read More: How Many Vendors Does It Really Take to Close a Mortgage?
#4 Is the Pricing You’re Quoted the Pricing You’ll Actually Pay?
A low initial price can be appealing, but make sure you understand how long that pricing will actually last. Some credit providers may offer low-cost reports, discounted rates, or no close loan ratio pricing to win your business, only to increase those charges a few months into the relationship.
That can make a provider appear significantly less expensive during the evaluation process than the lender’s longer-term cost will ultimately be.
Before comparing providers, ask:
- Is this our standard, ongoing rate, or an introductory or promotional rate?
- How long are these rates guaranteed?
- Are any reports or services currently being provided at low or no cost that will become billable later?
- What will our pricing look like after the introductory period ends?
- Under what circumstances can you increase our rates or add new fees?
- Will we receive advance notice of pricing changes?
- Can you provide an estimated annual cost based on the rates we should expect to pay over the full year?
The lowest quote today isn’t necessarily the lowest-cost option over the course of the relationship. Comparing year-long, expected pricing can help you avoid choosing a provider based on temporary discounts, only to face substantially higher costs a few months later.
Read More: How Can I Cut Credit Costs When They Keep Rising?
#5 What Is a Realistic Integration Timeline?
Switching credit providers may require configuring the new provider within your existing technology environment, testing integrations, setting up credentials, and adjusting workflows. While a prospective provider may promise a fast transition, the actual timeline often depends on your specific systems and solutions.
Ask potential credit providers to walk you through what a realistic integration timeline will look like for your mortgage lending business:
- How long does a typical integration take from kickoff to launch?
- What factors could extend my timeline?
- How do you handle unexpected delays or technical issues during integration?
Getting a realistic timeline upfront can help you plan your transition, coordinate the switch between providers, and minimize potential disruptions to your lending pipeline.
#6 Is Your Technology Compatible With My LOS?
A smooth integration often depends on whether your credit provider’s solutions can work effectively within your existing technology ecosystem. Ask whether potential providers support your loan origination system (LOS) and whether all the solutions you plan to use can integrate with it.
Confirming this compatibility upfront can help you avoid unexpected technology hurdles and ensure your team can incorporate the new provider’s solutions into your existing workflows.
#7 What Are Your Turnaround Times During Peak-Volume Periods?
Fast turnaround times are important year-round, but a provider’s ability to maintain them is truly tested during peak-volume periods.
Ask prospective providers how their typical turnaround times change during peak-volume periods and how they prepare for unexpected spikes in demand. You may also want to ask for documented turnaround-time data for services like credit supplements and manual verifications.
Read More: The Hidden Cost of Waiting on Your Vendors
#8 Can You Provide a Reference From a Lender Like Us?
A credit provider may have an impressive client list, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they have experience supporting an organization like yours. Your company’s size, loan volume, business model, and operational complexity can all influence what you need from your credit provider.
Ask prospective providers whether they can share references from clients with a similar size and lending profile as yours. Speaking with comparable lenders can give you firsthand insight into how the provider performs in a similar environment and whether they have the resources to support your operation.
How to Build a Formal Evaluation Process Before You Switch
Switching credit providers can affect multiple areas of your organization, so the decision shouldn’t necessarily rest with your procurement or leadership team alone. Including operations, IT, and other employees in your evaluation process can help you identify crucial workflow requirements, integration considerations, and service concerns.
You may also want to consider piloting new technology before transitioning your entire company to the new provider. This gives your team a chance to evaluate the provider in a real-world environment and address potential issues before committing to the switch.
By following this structured evaluation process and asking the right questions, you can look beyond the sales pitch to discover which provider is the strongest fit for your lending operation.
Read More: The Lender’s Guide to Choosing a Mortgage Credit Reporting Partner
How Certified Credit Measures Up
At Certified Credit, we believe mortgage lenders should ask tough questions before switching providers. A strong credit provider should be able to substantiate its promises with demonstrated experience and measurable results.
Here’s what you can expect when you partner with Certified Credit:
- Over 40 years of mortgage credit reporting experience: Certified Credit has served the mortgage lending industry for four decades, giving our team extensive experience in supporting lenders of all sizes, from smaller brokers to national lenders.
- 99.98% system uptime: Our advanced technology maintains 99.98% uptime, helping your team access the solutions they need without unnecessary disruption.
- Responsive support: Our 100% onshore Client Success team answers more than 90% of calls within 30 seconds, giving you fast access to knowledgeable support.
- Dedicated post-sale support: After implementation, you’ll have a dedicated account manager who gets to know your lending operation and serves as an ongoing resource for your team.
- Fast credit supplement turnaround: Our team completes approximately 75% of credit supplements within one business day, helping you keep your loan files moving.
- Bilingual assistance: Over 30% of our Client Success team speaks multiple languages, allowing them to communicate with a wide range of borrowers.
- Comprehensive mortgage solutions: Along with credit reporting, we offer income and employment verifications, fraud prevention, flood certifications, tax transcripts, undisclosed debt monitoring, and other solutions to help streamline your technology ecosystem.
- Workflow optimization expertise: Our team can evaluate your existing processes and identify opportunities to improve your efficiency, lower costs, and enhance your borrower experience.
Considering a change in credit providers? Schedule a consultation with Certified Credit to learn how our leading solutions and award-winning service team can support your mortgage lending business.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I ask before switching mortgage credit providers?
Before switching credit providers, ask about system uptime, customer support response times, post-sale account support, pricing and add-on fees, realistic integration timelines, LOS compatibility, peak-volume turnaround times, and the provider’s experience serving mortgage lenders similar to your organization.
How long does it take to switch mortgage credit providers?
There’s no universal timeline for switching credit providers. Your implementation timeline depends on your LOS, existing integrations, the number of solutions you’re implementing, training requirements, current vendor contracts, and the complexity of your workflows.
What is the biggest risk when switching credit providers?
One of the biggest risks is selecting a provider based primarily on price without evaluating their broader operational impact. Poor service, unreliable technology, unexpected fees, or difficult integrations can offset the savings you expected to gain from a lower quoted rate.
Does switching credit providers require LOS reconfiguration?
Reconfiguration requirements depend on your LOS, the provider’s existing integrations, the products you’re implementing, and your current workflows. Before making a switch, ask potential providers about their configuration requirements and how much involvement your IT or operations teams should expect.
What are the red flags that a credit provider isn’t truly full-service?
Potential red flags include a limited product suite, unclear add-on pricing, fragmented customer support, heavy reliance on third parties for essential services, and limited mortgage-industry experience.
