Notarize Blog

We've reached an inflection point. Credit unions are investing less in technology than mega and regional banks while membership continues to grow 20 percent year over year. 98 percent of companies report revenue loss due to poor transaction management. And, consumer expectations continue to rise thanks to the convenience and efficiencies we all experience in every other aspect of our lives. 

Technology, however, can provide the silver lining opportunity for your business this year.

• Baby Boomers are now far more likely to own a smartphone than they were a decade ago (68% now vs. 25% in 2011)
• Only 13% of Gen Z cares about convenient branch locations, while a quarter of them will avoid or stop using a service due to poor mobile design.
• Getting documents notarized is person is still one of the top complaints from members.

As 2020 kicks off, we put together a list of the top technology investments credit unions are making to enhance security, elevate customer experience, reduce environmental impact, and automate key business workflows to improve the bottom line.

Over the last decade, millions of Americans have refinanced their homes, encouraged by more attractive interest rates and often supported by the ability of technology to make the process more accessible. To apply for and actually refinance a property in an entirely digital way has long been the industry's Sorcerer’s Stone. But Notarize and States Title are part of a growing movement to make it a reality.

Today, Notarize and States Title are pleased to announce a new partnership that allows our mutual customers to close on their home entirely online. Borrowers can sign and notarize key documents that help them realize a vision for the home of their dreams or refinance their current home on better terms.

It's hard to believe we've done 15 episodes of This Week at Notarize. Since we started this weekly series in August, I got married, we announced major partnerships with Ellie Mae, Dropbox and Guaranteed Rate, and crushed our first ever conference, Rewired. More importantly, are all the people at Notarize you got a chance to meet this season.

In the season finale of our video series, This Week at Notarize, we talk about the greatest hits from this season with none other than Max DiRado, our video intern.

Welcome back to the show!

We're closing out 2019 with a bang. We just got back from our conference, Rewired, and it was a major success. With over 300 attendees from more than 200 companies, we brought together the leaders of the real estate industry for a one day event that had one attendee saying this:

"If I only go to one conference next year, it has to be Rewired."

That's why I was excited to have Adam Pase on this episode of This Week at Notarize. As Co-Founder, Adam knows exactly what it took over the last four years to change laws and create a movement so that hundreds, including Fannie Mae, Ginnie Mae, Opendoor, Guaranteed Rate and others, would come to our conference about the future of the industry.

So, with that said, welcome back to the show!

"Cupcakes aren't accidents." That's what our motivational sign at Notarize should say. Every time we hit a new milestone – something that is truly in a new territory – we get cupcakes in the office.

This week I was super excited to interview Ashley Spiess, who is the Senior Director of Operations at Notarize, and someone who is on the front lines of building the teams, frameworks, and experiences that help us reach new milestones. It truly takes a village to grow as much as we've grown, and with over 5,000 5-star reviews in Q3 alone, Ashley is constantly thinking about how we shape our organization on how we improve our internal operations, and customer experience. 

So, with that said, welcome back to the show!

I can't believe we've done 13 episodes of This Week at Notarize. What started as an idea from our CEO Pat Kinsel for a short news segment behind a desk has turned into a series where people around the world get to hear from those who are building Notarize as we share the exciting milestones shaping the future of our company, and the industries we serve. 

This week I was super excited to interview Rob Gagnon, who heads up our QA department at Notarize, and has led cross-functional initiatives around customer experience, and customer service. Such a big part of the success we've seen at Notarize, centers around service, from our QA team to our frontline operations teams. That's why some of my favorite episodes have been been on this topic.

So, with that said, welcome back to the show!

Any successful company who has really changed the way people do business, has created a community around it; a movement. Earlier this year when we published the Complete Guide to Remote Online Notarization, we never imagined it would be downloaded and read 3,000 times. Then, a lightbulb went off. Our customers, and those really interested in using this technology to improve the experience for their customers, wanted more resources -- anything they could get their hands on.

That's why we announced Notarize Academy as an on-demand video training series for title companies. Since then, we rolled out Notarize Academy for mortgage companies as well. That's why I'm excited to share this week's interview with Lauren Hintz, the mastermind behind Academy. 

Welcome back to the show!

Yesterday we announced that Brian Mirek joined Notarize as its VP of Sales, so it only makes sense that we bring on the big guns for this week's episode of This Week at Notarize. They said we shouldn't bring someone from finance on the show, but Myles Lane, our VP of Finance, is our latest guest to give you an inside look under the hood of Notarize as a business. 

We're onto Q4 but we have a lot more news to share soon 🤫

Welcome back to the show!

Last week was a special episode of "This Week at Notarize" where we talked about our partnership with Guaranteed Rate: one of the largest lenders in the country. If you missed the news, you can read coverage on TechCrunch, The Title Report, Inman, HousingWire or the National Mortgage Professional Magazine.

Yeah, it was a big day.

While it's tough to match last week's announcement, this week we're back with a new episode of the show. Recently, the Mortgage Industry Standard Maintenance Organization (MISMO) published a new set of industry standards around remote online notarization. This is important for a few reasons, but the biggest, is there is now standards and guidance for the entire real estate finance industry around using remote online notarization for executing digital mortgages. Or, in simpler terms: best practices for helping people close on their homes online.

Welcome back to the show!

Employees are people first, and their jobs second. That's why I was excited to talk about parental leave with Chrissy Fancy and Hilary Walker. Chrissy, an engineer on our CORE team, is due in November, and Hilary, our lead product designer and product manager for our title line of business, just came back to work after having her first child. 

In the newest episode of "This Week at Notarize" – our weekly series about everything happening inside Notarize – we talk about balancing being a parent and working. 

Welcome back to the show!