There's little doubt that the Internet is emerging as one of our most important transaction mediums. You can buy just about anything online, a reality which brings us to the matter of payment: Press a few keys and you can settle your bills with electronic speed.

The effectiveness of the Internet as a transaction medium raises the question of why it is that we cannot have electronic mortgages; that is, loans originated without fuss or bother?

The Mortgage Bankers Association, through the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO) has attempted since 1999 to establish voluntary eMortgage standards. The latest MISMO protocols, version 2.1, are now online for lenders and the rest of us to consider.

Conceptually at least, eMortgages make a great deal of sense. You could save a lot of time and money if the entire process was reduced to electrons sloshing around a few computers -- savings which hopefully would be passed along to consumers.

Realistically, originating and securing a mortgage is not so simple -- you need to be absolutely sure that the borrower is really the borrower and not some hacker 6,000 miles away; you have to be certain there is a real property securing the loan, you have to know what the property is worth and whether there is clear title; and you surely want everything properly captured in local land records at the end of the process.

If you go through the steps associated with the lending process, each phase looks like a good candidate for electronic processing:

• A borrower must complete a standard loan application. Once the information is keyed in, tons of repetitive work becomes unnecessary.

• There must be both a credit check and a property valuation. The property valuation process may include an appraisal, termite inspection and survey -- or maybe just a computerized valuation. We already can access credit data in minutes, so that part of the system is largely in place.

• The application information must be verified.

• Each loan product will have underwriting standards. Compare the application information with the consumer application, credit data and property valuation and you can immediately see if the applicant is on track for a loan.

• The documentation can be used to determine if the loan qualifies for VA, FHA or private mortgage insurance.

• The loan application must include a title history and abstract for title insurance.

• If the electronic process rejects a borrower, then the application must be reviewed manually by wage-earning humans.

• At the end of the process there must be a complete package for closing.

So why the delay? Why don't we have electronic mortgages today? A few reasons stand out:

First, while the list above is fairly short, the actual process of originating a mortgage involves lots of players. You've got loan officers, underwriters, appraisers, surveyors, termite companies, title firms, abstracters, attorneys, closing agents and others, all of whom need to use the same electronic system otherwise their data and information won't mesh.

Second, you need to have all lenders on the same electronic page, otherwise it becomes difficult to quickly sell and re-sell loans on the secondary market.

Third, you have to sell consumers on the idea -- and that may not be so easy.

Entering a lot of private financial information into an electronic system is discomforting to many would-be borrowers. The continuing stream of news accounts involving ID theft, fake websites, hacking and phishing do little to encourage public support for electronic transactions of any sort.

What would help the case for electronic mortgage processing are clear benefits for the public. If lenders could say that rates would be reduced .5 percent and consumers could save $10,000 over the life of a $100,000 loan, that would be important. If consumers knew that electronic applications could be unconditionally approved in a week -- that is, approved with appraisals, title searches and all other requirements -- that would be impressive.

Mortgages represent huge financial commitments and for that reason alone it makes sense for both borrowers and lenders to act cautiously when considering a new technology. At the same time, if we're going to look at new technology we have to ask who benefits. If only lenders come out ahead, if there are no material advantages for consumers, there will be little public pressure to develop electronic mortgage applications -- and that's about where we now stand.

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