How to drive digital lending adoption across your team

Digital lending is transforming how borrowers apply for and receive loans. However, while lenders can access powerful digital lending solutions—including tools for real-time income and asset verification—adoption within organizations is still lagging. Many loan officers rely on traditional and manual processes, even though better tools are available and many borrowers prefer digital solutions.

Why? Because change can feel risky. Especially when you’re working under pressure to close deals quickly.

The good news: adoption doesn’t have to be disruptive. With the right design, measurement, and communication strategy, you can help your team adopt digital lending software in a seamless way that leads to better operating efficiency and borrower outcomes.

What are digital lending solutions?

Digital lending solutions help lenders streamline the origination process by replacing manual steps, like uploading documents or collecting paper statements, with secure, automated workflows. One example is digital asset verification, where borrowers securely connect their financial accounts to share account balances and transaction history in real time for automated verifications.

The benefits are clear:

• Faster loan applications

• Streamlined internal workflows to reduce processing time and costs

• Improved borrower experience

According to Fannie Mae, 87% of borrowers opt into digital verification when asked, and 71% say it made the homebuying process easier. Another 90% say they want a more digital mortgage experience.

It’s also a win for lenders. Mortgage industry leaders estimate that a fully digital origination process can reduce the cost per loan by as much as 40%.

Why are loan officers hesitant to adopt digital lending software and tools?

Despite those benefits, adoption remains low. Just 46% of home buyers are even offered digital verification, and many loan officers revert to manual processes out of fear of losing the loan.

Loan officers worry that introducing a new step, like asking borrowers to link a bank account, could lead to drop-off. They often operate under tight deadlines and don’t want to risk derailing a deal. There’s also the misconception that borrowers may not be accustomed to using new technology when, in fact, 1 in 2 U.S. adults have used Plaid to link a bank account to a financial app or service.

Often, loan officers are never trained on why digital verification matters or how to use the tools effectively. They were simply handed the technology and expected to figure it out.

As a result, some lenders who invest in digital lending platforms see low adoption rates amongst their loan officers and hesitate to require their use.

How to get your team to adopt new digital lending solutions

The key to driving adoption is to roll out solutions in a way that’s simple, measurable, and tied to real outcomes. The following three-step framework—Design, Track, Communicate—can help increase adoption for any digital lending platform.

Step 1: Design

Make adoption easy by integrating digital tools into existing workflows and training lenders on how to use them. 

Loan officers shouldn’t have to navigate multiple systems or break their routine to use a new tool. Wherever possible, embed digital lending solutions for processes like asset or income verification directly into the lending processes and tools that your loan officers commonly use. 

If deeper integration isn’t possible right away, look for lighter-weight solutions that require minimal lift. For example:

✅ Plaid’s Hosted Link allows borrowers to connect their accounts in a short, secure workflow within web browsers or a web context within a mobile app, eliminating the need for front-end implementation work. 

To access the workflow, lenders create a link that’s hosted by Plaid that enables customers to connect their accounts and retrieve the financial data needed for the loan application. Lenders can simply send the link to borrowers via email or SMS, and have them quickly complete the flow. This creates a minor change for the loan officer, but streamlines the process for the borrower.

Other important design considerations:

• Create internal resources: Build a centralized training hub with how-to guides, recorded demos, and dedicated channels for support. Leverage your digital lending solution provider to aid in the creation of the materials.

• Train loan officers on borrower conversations: Equip them with simple ways to explain what digital asset verification is, why it’s secure, and how it benefits the borrower. Training should also be ongoing, so create a plan that factors in new teammates and refreshers to keep the momentum going with existing loan officers.

• Identify champions: Select a few early adopters to pilot the process, share feedback, and help drive awareness. Offer small rewards or recognition for their involvement.

Adoption starts with understanding. If people don’t see how the tool helps them close more deals, they won’t use it.

Step 2: Track

Set clear KPIs so you can measure adoption and prove success. 

Before rolling out digital lending solutions, determine which metrics matter most to your business and how you’ll track them. Additionally, set a realistic timeframe to compare results before and after implementing a digital lending solution.

Some key metrics to consider:

• Percentage of new loans using digital verification vs. manual

• Close rate with and without digital tools

• Average time to close

• Loan volume per officer

Even a small improvement can drive big results. For example, if your digital lending software increases the close rate by 5% across 10,000 loans at a $300,000 average value, that’s:

• 500 more closed loans

• $150 million in loan volume

• 25 more loans per loan officer

Don’t stop at implementation. Build a system to capture and analyze these metrics so you can iterate as needed.

Step 3: Communicate

Keep the conversation going after launch. 

One training session isn’t enough, especially when changing long-standing behaviors. Make it easy for your team to understand the value of digital lending tools by tying adoption to business outcomes.

Some best practices:

• Run regular syncs with champions and leaders.

• Share wins through newsletters, Slack posts, or team meetings.

• Include real metrics, like "Loan officers using digital verification close 25 more loans per year on average".

• Celebrate early adopters and recognize progress publicly.

Also, create space for ongoing feedback. Encourage your team to share what’s working, where they’re struggling, and what additional support they need.

Change doesn’t happen overnight, but when officers see that digital tools help them close faster, adoption follows.

Digital lending adoption is possible with the right strategy

The technology is ready. Borrowers are ready. But most teams still need a strategy to get loan officers over the adoption hump.

The key is to reduce friction by designing workflows that are easy to use, tracking performance with clear KPIs, and communicating the impact with clarity and consistency.

No matter what platform you use, a thoughtful approach to change management will set you up for success.

Embrace digital lending with Plaid

Plaid helps lenders boost adoption with conversion-optimized workflows, real-time financial data, and easy-to-use digital solutions that streamline everything from identity verification to disbursement—all on one platform.

Learn more about our digital lending solutions.