A start-up which has developed facial recognition software to speed up anti-money laundering checks within the property sector has scooped a Wales Online Digital Award for Best Emerging Technology.

Credas has developed a suite of products and services designed to cut the time and cost it takes to verify more than 4,000 types of identification.

It aims to provide an easy and secure way for property agents to match ID photos with the actual person instantly, using a mobile enabled portal.

This ensures that identity verification and AML checks are performed quickly and accurately, and comply with HMRC legislation.

Credas CEO Rhys David said on taking home the award: “This is such a huge honour and we’re over the moon to have received this award. We were up against some outstanding companies.

“We have an exceptional team behind us at Credas who work incredibly hard at driving innovation, and to win this award is really a testament to their dedication.

“It’s been an exceptional year for us and we’ve managed to surpass all expectations we had for our first year in business.”

Starting with two employees, the team now has 14 staff with over 50 customers across the estate agency, accountancy, legal, recruitment and construction sectors.

It has also secured its first crypto-currency client, heralding a move into another new sector.