Black Knight bolsters e-notes with DocVerify acquisition

As mortgage companies look to build out their offerings and provide customers with fully digital experiences, Black Knight announced its acquisition of DocVerify.

A representative at Black Knight said terms of the transaction will not be disclosed.

DocVerify's e-notary capabilities — both in person and online — aim to ensure streamlined and verified transference of sensitive information. The fintech's products have already been integrated with Black Knight's digital closing platform, Expedite Close.

"Black Knight and DocVerify are an exceptional strategic fit, given how our solutions and platforms complement one another," Black Knight CEO Anthony Jabbour said in a press release.

"Digital documents are becoming the norm for conducting business in virtually all industries," he added. "Black Knight and DocVerify share a commitment to helping our clients move closer to a secure paperless environment through the digitization of the document validation process and a highly secure e-notary solution that our mortgage and real estate clients can leverage to offer a 100% digital closing."

The coronavirus highlighted how important the ability to conduct business remotely can be and the blind spots within the mortgage industry. And studies of the most powerful contingent of homebuyers — millennials — regularly find that they expect the convenience of conducting transactions online.

"Capabilities like online applications, automatic updates and e-closing offer millennial customers the seamless digital experiencesthey expect while freeing up time for the human interaction necessary to answer questions or concerns they may have as they navigate the home-buying process for the first time," Joe Tyrrell, chief operating officer at Ellie Mae, said in the firm's latest report on millennial home buying behaviors.

The DocVerify transaction falls in line with Black Knight's overall goal of offering a suite of products that cover the entire mortgage process. The DocVerify acquisition comes exactly one month after its buyout of pricing engine provider, Optimal Blue. In March, Black Knight finalized its deal to buy Collateral Analytics, an automated valuation model provider.

The acquisition "will benefit clients of both companies, as well as the industries we serve," said Darcy Mayer, CEO and founder of DocVerify. "Both Black Knight and DocVerify are focused on developing innovative technologies that are versatile, easy-to-use and provide optimal security for our clients."

Trasimene Capital Management served as Black Knight's advisor on the deal.