New PropTech platform for deposit replacement service

Deposit replacement service Ome is launching a new platform for agent and landlord members.

The portal, in development since the middle of 2021, follows research by creators Hamilton Fraser into how to create a slicker customer experience for users.

Hamilton Fraser claims that members accessing the new platform will benefit from improved communications throughout the process, with the choice of multiple options around how they would like to receive these communications. There is also a cleaner member panel that will enable more sources of information to be displayed. 

The platform has the functionality to offer additional complementary products and services alongside deposit replacement, and there will be further updates to this facility later this month.

Ome launched in March 2020 and says it has since built “a loyal customer base” - although no figures have been released on this. 

As part of the launch, the Ome brand will be raligned more closely with the other products within the Hamilton Fraser Group. 

Peter Agathangelou, group chief technical officer, says: "This launch represents the first major implementation of our business transformation strategy. Not only does it deliver a refresh of Ome, it also contributes over 85 per cent of the new membership journey for our planned refresh of the tenancy deposit platform and is our enabler for bringing together our vision of the single customer marketplace, which will allow our customers to manage their engagement with the Hamilton Fraser Group through a single portal.”

Eddie Hooker, the group’s chief executive, adds: “We launched the Ome brand in late 2019 and deposit replacement in 2020 with two goals in mind: To offer choice to tenants by introducing a Deposit Replacement Membership alongside our traditional deposit offering with mydeposits. And to create a brand that would be at the forefront of our digital transformation, both internally and for customers of the wider Hamilton Fraser Group.

“Despite the pandemic, we have continued to push forward with our group’s digital strategy. The launch of Ome’s new portal will pave the way for future development as the group’s brands and products are added to the portal. The next step in our transformation will see mydeposits integrated into the tenancy deposit platform, enabling our customers to access all their deposit needs in one location.”