Anti-money laundering platform Credas Technologies has announced the integration of open banking technology as part of its agent-facing proposition.

Open banking is a set of technologies and standards that enables consumers to securely share their bank account information with third parties. This access is frequently used to build products, applications and services to improve the user experience of banking and money transfers.

In the property industry, open banking offers estate agents access to documents and information required to ascertain buyers’ proof of funds and their source of finances to ensure that the money used to purchase property is not generated through illegal practices.

According to Credas Technologies, open banking makes accessing information much quicker than other methods relying on paper documents, and also gives agents assurance that the information they are accessing is genuine and reliable.

“When it comes to anti-money laundering in estate agency, ID verification is a relatively new technology and it’s one that many agents are yet to fully embrace,” said Tim Barnett, CEO of Credas Technologies.

“We’re excited to have incorporated open banking into our offering. It’s going to give estate agents an even easier route when confirming a client’s financial status and proving source of funds, thus making it more difficult than ever for criminals to take advantage of the housing market and improving efficiency for property professionals,” Barnett added.

A survey commissioned by Credas Technologies found that 61% of the UK population are now familiar with the open banking concept and how it enables banks and finance companies to provide customer-facing apps. On the benefits of open banking, the survey found consumers ranked speed and convenience top.