OakStar adds iPhone app for mortgages

Though Aaron Jernigan is a veteran of the Springfield mortgage business, the fact that he’s also a big fan of everything Apple gave him the idea for the newest tool in OakStar Bank’s mortgage arsenal – an iPhone application that launched Feb. 22.

“I’ve noticed how many people are using iPhones and apps,” said Jernigan, vice president of mortgage lending at OakStar. “You even see people in line at the grocery store using their apps, and I thought it would be a good idea to develop one for the bank that allows real estate professionals and homebuyers direct access to loan information.”

Jernigan hired Brandon Bevis of Springfield-based AppzDev LLC, and worked with him for 2 months on OakStar’s app, which features regularly updated interest rates, a mortgage calculator, contact information and links to OakStar loan originators. There is also online banking for OakStar customers.

Bevis said the biggest challenge of developing OakStar’s app was the mortgage calculator’s amortization schedule feature.

“Getting something that small on the device while still being able to display it all on the screen was a challenge,” he said.

Once the app met the bank’s specifications, it was sent to Apple for approval, a process that took just a couple of days.

The app is available free through the Apple store and can be downloaded to iPhone and iPod devices.  

Bevis said he’s tweaking fonts to make OakStar’s app more user-friendly.

“There is so much information provided through the mortgage calculator and amortization function that users have to zoom in and out to see all of the data,” he said. “I tested the app on my 65-year-old mother, and she loved it and didn’t have a problem. But I’m not completely satisfied with how it looks on the screen.”

Mike Green, a real estate agent with Murney Associates, is using the OakStar app.

“I’m completely sold on the (OakStar) app,” he said. “Everything seems to work great, and that’s something you sometimes worry about with something new.”

Green said he uses the app when he is out with prospective buyers to check the latest interest rates and calculate amortization schedules.

“The other nice feature is getting the loan officer’s contact information right away,” Green said. “It really makes home buying a lot easier for the customer and is a tool of convenience for a Realtor.”

Neither Bevis nor Jernigan disclosed the development cost of OakStar’s app. The costs to develop an app for other Springfield companies, including TLC Properties and ANPAC, have varied widely – from just under $10,000 to tens of thousands of dollars. But Jernigan said more functions may be added.

“The great thing about the iPhone app is that we can change something, send it to Apple and they will update it and push it out to the app store,” he said.

While Jernigan said it’s too soon to share how many people have downloaded the app, he noted that some borrowers have used it to lock in rates from their phones. Beyond providing information to Realtors, Jergnigan noted the marketing aspects.

OakStar isn’t the only bank looking at emerging technology to serve its customers. Arvest Bank already has launced one, and Springfield-based Great Southern Bank is in the development process for an iPhone app of its own, according to bank spokeswoman Kelly Polonus, who noted that Great Southern’s version won’t be specific to mortgages.

“It will have some financial calculators, but we’re not planning on offering interest rate information through the app at this time,” Polonus said, adding that the bank doesn’t have a specific date for when it would be launched.