How Truework and Blend are transforming verifications

Streamlining income and employment verification is no longer a ‘nice-to-have’—it’s essential for modern lenders. That’s Where Truework comes in, a leading verification platform that’s now embedded directly into Blend’s suite of consumer banking and home lending products. Together, we’re helping lenders eliminate friction, reduce costs, and accelerate borrower approvals—all with a fully integrated, intelligent verification solution. We sat down with Ryan Sandler, CEO of Truework, to discuss the partnership with Blend, the technology behind it, and what it means for lenders.

You co-founded Truework in 2017. What drew you to the world of income and employment verification?

I stumbled upon income and employment verification, actually. I was looking at spaces and industries that were historically overlooked by technology and dominated by incumbents. Based on my personal background, I also wanted to find a space where data science was important. That’s when I found the world of income and employment verification.

The more my cofounders and I talked with potential customers, the more it became clear that technology could make a meaningful impact. The only products available were notoriously bad yet those companies continued to raise prices. Lenders and others were begging for a new and modern solution.

The final decision-making point for me was when we realized how bad consumer privacy and transparency was in this space. We decided that we had to build a better alternative that was better for all parties involved, and that’s when Truework was founded.

You work with 8 of the top 10 mortgage lenders in the U.S.—What are some of the most common issues you see lenders (and their customers) face when it comes to verification?

Lenders are constantly trying to figure out how to increase coverage and decrease costs on the loan origination process. There are over six million employers in the country, in addition to applicants who are self-employed. Gaining full coverage can be difficult and costly.

In addition, we’ve found that coverage is only the beginning. It’s imperative that the data they get is accurate and usable; otherwise they’re wasting money on repetitive efforts.

Truework aims to solve the coverage problem, but more importantly, ensure that verification reports are complete and accurate so that they actually move the loan forward.

Lenders using Blend now have access to Truework’s verification products. Can you break down how this integration works? What got you excited about the partnership with Blend?

There’s been a big focus lately on delivering a high quality consumer experience. Together, we’re poised to deliver it by embedding the verification experience in Blend’s borrower experience, making it easy for consumers to engage and permission their data as part of the application process. Based on a few inputs, income and employment data is automatically pulled. On the backend, internal teams get that data in fully vetted and complete reports.

I’ve been a fan of Blend for a long time, so this partnership is incredibly exciting. We are excited to get this integrated experience into the hands of customers.

What are lenders seeing before vs. after implementing an intelligent VOI provider like Truework?

We’ve spent a lot of time working with lenders on unique business cases to break down the entire loan origination process and understand how Truework is supporting bigger business outcomes. In one example alone, we helped a lender save 14,000+ hours for their loan fulfillment teams and achieved 20% cost savings. For some lenders, we got up to 50% cost savings. That’s making a huge difference and shows the value of a true technology partner.

Looking ahead, what are the top trends in VOI that lenders can’t afford to ignore in the next 1-2 years?

I think machine learning will have an increasing impact on delivering accuracy. What’s unique about verifications is that it’s a place where lenders need as close to 100% accuracy as possible, so an estimate—or getting close to accurate—isn’t going to cut it. We need to be thinking about source-of-truth data and how to access that information as efficiently as possible.

For example, Truework has an orchestration engine that automatically routes requests through multiple methods, determining the optimal path to achieve a complete and accurate report. That’s just scratching the surface.

I see a future where we’re able to leverage AI advancements to further reduce manual actions like auto-validating signatures on a PDF, automating full back-and-forth email conversations, and automating phone calls. It’s only the beginning and AI will continue to unlock new coverage, faster turnaround times, and lower costs for lenders.

Blend’s partner ecosystem: Delivering simplicity and efficiency

Blend brings together over 70 leading technology providers in a single platform, streamlining banking experiences and eliminating friction for lenders and consumers. By continuously expanding our ecosystem with new capabilities and partners, we’re helping lenders integrate effortlessly while enhancing automation, borrower engagement, and decisioning.

Want to learn more about how Blend and Truework are simplifying the lending journey

• Read the press release