Thirty years ago, Sam Makhoul founded a law firm with two staff handling 300 settlements per month. Today, MSA National handles over 2,000 mortgage settlements daily and is the largest outsource settlements provider and material supplier to some of Australia’s largest financial institutions. And is consistently ranked number one for service by the vast majority of mortgage broker groups. Yet, MSA’s real success goes far beyond the numbers.
Q: How did MSA evolve from a legal practice into technology powerhouse?
By blending legal expertise with tailored technology solutions, MSA has redefined its identity as more than just a law firm.
In 2015, MSA launched its Digital Now strategy. “It was a was a deliberate transition away from being perceived as just a law firm. We’re really a mortgage documentation and settlement technology company that has the operational disciplines of a major bank” says Makhoul, MSA’s CEO.
Q: What is MSA’s secret behind developing its leading settlement tech?
MSA National’s technology development follows a simple principle: eliminate pain points and maintain a continuous feedback loop with mortgage brokers.
“We built our products because we have a continuous focus on eliminating pain points,” says Ayhan Baba, Head Of Strategic Partnerships. “If there is a pattern of pain points, then we ask the tech team, ‘How can we solve this?’”
Q: Everyone is talking about MSA’s 90 second documents solution. Why is speed to issue documents important?
Faster turnaround times are driven by speed to issue, speed to sign, and speed to comply. With MSA’s 90 second docs solution, loan documents are automatically issued to customers within 90 seconds of approval. Data shows that speed to issue drives speed to sign - these files settle, on average, 1.24 days sooner.
Using a combination of APIs and automation, MSA pre-populates text fields which were traditionally inputted by customers. Many of these are automatically validated, and have inbuilt instructions, reducing input errors, and reworks.
Coupled with dynamic fields, customers only enter information not already held by MSA, reducing input errors. DigiDocs also includes direct upload functionality and tailored instructions for pre-settlement requirements, such as insurance, increasing speed to settle.
Importantly, MSA works closely with lenders to review, simplify and digitise precedents. Using insights from lender call centres, MSA designs solutions that minimise customer calls and confusion, allowing them to sign with confidence. This speed to sign, drives speed to settle and gives more time back to the broker.
Q: MSA also has a video solution. How does it boost customer engagement?
MSA recognised early on the generational change in how people consume information. "We live in the YouTube generation where nobody reads anymore. So we developed a video solution to manage customer expectations and focus their attention on what they needed to do to get a quicker, pain-free settlement," Makhoul explains.
MyVideo, highlights the most important features of each customer’s loan and eliminates over 40% of calls and emails to brokers and lenders. This frees up advisers to focus on what they do best rather than answering routine questions.
“We work closely with brokers and lenders to ensure all pain points for the customer are eliminated.” Sam Makhoul.
Q: How does MSA National’s culture embody the idea of people helping people?
For all its technological achievements, MSA National’s leadership consistently returns to human relationships as the company’s competitive advantage.
Katrina Makhoul, MSA National’s Head Of People And Culture, has developed recruitment and cultural practices that prioritise empathy and humility over technical credentials.
The company’s approach to hiring reflects this priority. “Because I live and breathe the culture, I look at every subtle word an applicant says,” Katrina explains. “Are they empathetic? Are they problem-solvers with the right mindset?”
“I would say the MSA difference is our people. We’ve created a culture where staff want to help the customer, they want to connect with the brokers. They want to go the extra mile” Katrina Makhoul, MSA National
Technical Skills can be taught, but character cannot. “If they’re genuine, kind, humble, quick to understand – I know we can train them in the role.” she says. “But I can’t train humility. I can’t train empathy.”
Q: How does MSA reduce complexity & increase transparency?
MSA’s technology creates transparency that reduces anxiety. LoanTrak, the industry-standard tracking platform with over 15,000 active users, is a collaboration tool to give brokers the ability to chat with the file owner in real time, view documents and upload documents. For customers there is OnTrak, which provides real-time updates on loan progress. This has a eliminated a lot of calls to brokers and lenders.
Q: How is MSA using automation to help brokers get faster settlements?
MSA National’s latest technological development represents its most ambitious attempt to eliminate friction from mortgage settlements, by reducing approval to settlement time from over 20 days to under 10 days for a refinance.
This level of automation might seem to contradict the company’s emphasis on personal service, but Sam sees it as enabling more meaningful human interaction. By handling routine tasks automatically, MSA’s staff can focus on problem-solving and customer support where human judgement matters most.
This philosophy extends to settlement day itself. Cooper emphasises, “Our goal is to have the least involvement needed from the borrower and the broker on the day of settlement. It should just happen – smoothly and without stress.”
Q: Where to from here for MSA National?
Sam Makhoul’s philosophy guides MSA’s growth: “Complacency is the enemy of progress. With our exceptional team, we are committed to transforming the customer experience with passion. Every day, we strive to make mortgage settlements simpler for customers, ensuring lenders who partner with MSA National have happier brokers and happier customers.”
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