Bank of Valletta plc (BOV) has become the first local financial institution to offer its customers a “holistic digital journey” when applying for a home loan, it announced on Friday.

While customers may still opt to visit a branch at any point during their home loan application process, the new online home loans solution, accessible through a revamped landing page on BOV's website, enables users to start and finish the process from their own homes.

BOV says that through this new process, both existing and potential customers can “accurately check” how much they can afford to borrow and obtain a quotation in real-time. Based on their income and commitments, it will provide applicants with the applicable loan amount and interest rate, as well as the possibility to upload all the necessary documents directly online and submit their application without having to go to a branch.

Additionally, BOV also launched a "first-on-the-market" feature that allows it to provide customers with a real-time "agreement in principle letter" for a particular loan amount applied for. Customers may opt to get in touch with a virtual branch officer or a customer service agent by telephone or email for further assistance.

The application process is “seamless, can be initiated, left off, and picked up again from the same screen,” both from desktop or mobile devices, or even if the customer decides to resume the process at a branch. Afterwards, customers can also track the status of their application.

Head of Consumer Finance Marisa Said celebrated the milestone in BOV's Digital Transformation Strategy, as "this is not just a first for BOV, but also a first on the local market and represents nothing less than a revolution in transforming key home loan processes across the local banking sector,” she explained.

Ms Said expressed gratitude for her team’s dedication and commitment, as well as the assistance of BOV’s external consultants and developers, “who collectively made this project come to fruition to the benefit of the bank’s customers”.