After years of signaling that it will do so, ICE Mortgage Technology announced it will be pulling the plug on Encompass SDK.
The sunset of the legacy technology is planned for October 31, 2025. Encompass API, which is already actively used, will be the replacement. While this shouldn't be shocking news, it will require third party vendors that haven't already to make their plug-in products compliant with Encompass API.
"Our transition to an API structure first began seven years ago with Encompass Partner Connect, and there has been significant development, testing and refinement in the years since," said Troy Thomas, senior vice president of originations engineering at ICE, in a written statement Friday. "Moving to APIs lets ICE and our partners deliver a better experience not just for day-to-day Encompass users, but also for the borrowers they serve."
Thomas pointed out that a modern tech stack can help drive down the cost to originate, benefitting mortgage lenders and borrowers in
"As we all know, change is a constant in this industry; demand fluctuates, market pressures change, regulatory and compliance requirements continue to evolve," he added.
One mortgage professional said that while this is a step in the right direction, lenders will have to reevaluate what integrations they rely on. Meanwhile, third party vendors will need to ensure that their products can work on Encompass API, which could be costly for some.
The full transition to Encompass API will also close potential backdoors that existed in the legacy platform and that was hard to keep track of, another industry stakeholder added.
ICE said that there has already been a trend of clients moving away from SDK-based plugins in favor of "far more efficient APIs to meet mortgage industry needs."
The company pointed to over 55,000 calls per minute coming through the platform, serving customers making loan applications, loan officers qualifying borrowers, service orders and more.
For vendors that do not meet the deadline, they'll be able to work with their account managers "in the event an exception is needed."
"We're also hosting a series of webinars and holding open office hours for customers who are looking for additional guidance," Thomas said.
