The Pizza Test
Two near-identical pizza shops sit across the street. Same crust, same cheese, same price. One answers the phone on the first ring with, “I’ve got you, what’s your order?” The other drops you into hold music. Five years later, the first shop has a line out the door. Nothing magical happened - just a tiny, repeated edge: a fast, specific reply that told customers, “you’re in good hands.”
That same edge decides who wins after a member taps Submit on a loan application.
The dead-end after submit
Most origination journeys end where they should begin: at submit. The member waits. Your team waits for email attachments. Everyone waits on a next step that could have been clear in seconds. Meanwhile:
Members apply after hours (life slows down then), but replies don’t.
Documents trickle in via email, get rejected for quality, and the back-and-forth grows.
“Approved-but-not-funded” becomes a quiet leak in your pipeline.
Meet HAL: Your AI-Powered Assistant for Lending
HAL supports app submit → funding communication and documentation, closing the gap with immediate, specific, and compliant guidance - at scale.
What HAL actually does:
Replies near instantly with status and clear actions (e.g. Upload your two most recent pay stubs here,”).
Collects docs on mobile with a secure link and instant accept/reject feedback (no guesswork).
Verifies what matters (AI extraction from pay stubs, bank statements, tax returns; identity prompts).
Follows up intelligently and escalates to a human, only when needed.
Updates your LOS in near real time
The Reply Effect in Numbers
Early adopters see compounding gains when the first reply is fast and the next step is specific:
3.4× increase in look-to-book
25% faster time-to-fund
70% of documents collected automatically
~30% of member messages come after hours, and HAL answers
Speed isn’t a feature; it’s a trust signal that compounds. The sooner you replace silence with clarity, the more loans you fund (with the team you already have).
Why this works (and keeps working):
Momentum over mystery. Acknowledge, specify, and estimate time to milestones right away.
Clarity reduces compliance risk. Instant “green-beep” feedback (accepted vs. needs-fix) avoids document ping-pong.
Parallelization beats headcount. You don’t need 24/7 staff to offer 24/7 progress.
Exceptions, not everything. HAL handles the follow-up; your team handles the edge cases.
What to measure first (and how)
To make this real, track:
Look-to-Book (funded ÷ submitted)
Time-to-Fund (days from submit to funded)
Docs Auto-Collected Rate (% accepted without staff)
After-Hours Interaction Share (% of msgs)
First Response Time (median minutes)
Approved-Not-Funded Recovery (% completed with HAL)
Staff Hours/Loan (submit→fund touches)
Bring the Reply Effect to Your Pipeline
Every stalled application is usually missing one thing: a timely, specific next step. HAL makes that happen - immediately after Submit, after hours, and persistently follows up until funding.
The result isn’t louder work; it’s lighter, faster work that compounds into more funded loans with the team you already have.
To learn more about how HAL fits in to our suite of solutions contact sales@withclutch.com or visit withclutch.com
HAL Blog Series
This post is part 1 of our 5-part series on transforming credit union lending with HAL.
Next up in this series: Docs Without Drama — how instant feedback and AI verification cut days from funding.
