First coffins now mortgages.
Costco shoppers can now land themselves a mortgage.
After a year of testing, Costco is rolling out a full-service mortgage lending program on its website in partnership with First Choice Bank, a New Jersey-based community bank, and 10 other lenders. .
Costco’s partners have issued more than 10,000 mortgages to members under the program
Mortgages are just one of several financial products available to Costco’s members. The warehouse club also offers health and auto insurance, as well as stock brokerage services.
Up next: Auto loans and student loans.
Costco had started offering mortgages a couple of years ago but the service provider it was using didn’t share enough details about how it was dealing with Costco’s members, so Costco started over from scratch, partnering with First Choice Bank to build a new mortgage lending portal.
Much like LendingTree, the site gathers quotes from various lenders. However, there is one key difference. Under the Costco program, the borrower’s identity is revealed only after they officially select the lender.
With many other lead-generation sites, the consumer fills out an application and any lender can make an offer and begin sending marketing communications to the applicant without restrictions.
Costco members will still need to do their homework and compare offers, though,
First Choice said it will police the other lenders to ensure they comply with Costco’s policies, which include giving accurate rates and terms and following up quickly on questions and requests. The technology enables Costco to monitor individual applications and make sure they are handled properly and expeditiously.
Costco takes no profit on the lending itself, but it does get paid to market the service.
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