The step-by-step approach from Amazon to move slowly but surely into the housing and mortgage finance space just made a little more progress.
For those who don't already know, the voice recognition tech offered to Amazon Prime members is called "Alexa."
Alexa lives in the Amazon cloud and is constantly being updated as to what services it offers. Amazon members can ask Alexa for many services.
For example, Alexa can order you an Uber to take you to the grocery store, or you can ask Alexa to reorder groceries to be delivered (Although Amazon Fresh is an additional charge). Alexa can also tell you when your Capital One credit card maxes out.
And now Alexa can make your Quicken Loans Rocket Mortgage payment for you, quickly and securely. And, to be sure, Alexa isn't limited to Prime membership — Quicken customers can use Alexa without Prime membership — however Amazon's voice recognition services are better realized with a Prime membership.
At any rate, any homeowner with an Amazon Echo, Echo Dot, Echo Show, the Amazon mobile app, or one of many other Alexa-enabled devices can now also check mortgage rates and review balances, according to a spokesperson from Quicken Loans in an email to HousingWire.
“Through proprietary technology like Rocket Mortgage, Quicken Loans continues to deliver radical simplicity and crystal-clear transparency for all homebuyers and those looking to refinance their existing homes,” said Jay Farner, Quicken Loans CEO. “Our outstanding Rocket Mortgage technology team in Detroit developed this new skill for Alexa and they have shown once again why they are the elite fintech development group in the country.”
The development is interesting for a few reasons.
For one, by berthing into voice recognition, Quicken can easily expanded to Amazon’s competitors who offer similar services; Google Home comes immediately to mind, here.
Secondly, Amazon is quietly testing the waters for access in both the real estate and mortgage markets. Could this help within its R&D department?
Amazon is also seen as a growing rival to retail hardware stores for DIY homeowners: “Alexa, will you order some more light bulbs and find me a nearby carpenter?”
Alexa already can, and will.
