A new government-backed digital identity trust mark launches today. It could help reduce repeated identity checks during property transactions.
Digital Verification Service (DVS) providers that meet the required standards can use the UK CertifID trust mark from 1 September. It will help property professionals and consumers identify certified digital identity services.
The change could have implications across the residential property and mortgage sectors. Buyers often have to prove their identity separately to estate agents, brokers, lenders and conveyancers.
Chris Williams, founder of mortgage and homebuying consultancy Novus Strategy, believes verified digital identities could reduce this duplication. He argues that wider adoption could speed up sales progression and help reduce transaction fall-throughs.
He said: “We’re all well used to seeing trust marks but few are going to have the impact of UK CertifID, which is going to help transform homebuying.
“All the promised transformation that will cure slow sales progression and rampant fall-thoughs simply isn’t possible without it. The trust mark signposts secure and verifiable routes for home buyers and borrowers to avoid the tedious nightmare of having to repeatedly prove who they are to lenders, brokers, agents, and conveyancers.
“After years of waiting, we’re now on the cusp of only having to do that once, allowing other parties involved in a transaction to make faster, earlier and simultaneous progress on things like credit checks, KYC, underwriting and searches. This is why the UK property market is set to be one of the main beneficiaries of UK CertifID.
The Office for Digital Identities and Attributes (OfDIA) says it will be optional for Digital Verification Service (DVS) providers but, in reality, Williams expect uptake in the lending and property market to be total.
He continued: “UK CertifID is how consumers will get comfortable handing over extremely sensitive personal details and documents to a trustworthy provider, knowing they meet all the necessary security standards.
“It’s also how other parties, such as conveyancers, will know that an ID check done earlier by an estate agent or mortgage broker was fully compliant and can be reused. It’s Smart Data in action, as verified identity becomes a reusable artefact that travels with the transaction.
“It’s also a perfect example of the interoperability unlocked by what’s known as Horizontal Digital Integration (HDI), an operating model that means the full potential of Smart Data and trust frameworks can be realised.
“Time to exchange is as long as it’s ever been. After years of transformation fatigue, the industry should finally be able to start turning things around now that reusable digital ID is gathering pace.”
