Credas, has joined the Open Property Data Association (OPDA) – the cross-industry group seeking to modernise the homebuying process through the sharing of verified digital property data.

Credas provides digital identity services to conveyancer and estate agents, handling around 60% of all ID checks on UK housing transactions.

Its technology aims to simplify and automate the customer onboarding and compliance process, helping to reduce friction and delays in property transactions.

TRANSPARENT AND TRUSTED

Tim Barnett (main picture, inset), chief executive of Credas, said he was pleased to be joining like-minded organisations in the OPDA to promote a more transparent and trusted housing market.

He said: “With the recent announcement of the launch of the Credas Compliance Wallet, we are committed to making identity verification and compliance data sharable and easily accessible.

“We are looking forward to collaborating with other members to minimise the number of checks needed throughout the home buying process, creating an easier, seamless process for all.”

Founded in June 2023, the OPDA is a membership community made up of organisations that share and use open data for the benefit of consumers and the wider industry.

Its members include major mortgage lenders such as NatWest Group, HSBC, Nationwide and Lloyds Banking Group, alongside Atom Bank, PEXA, Movera and Coadjute.

TRUSTED AND OPEN

The association promotes the use of trusted open property data and developed the Property Data Trust Framework, which provides the foundation for safe and secure sharing of verified digital data between industry participants. The framework is central to the creation of a faster, digitally enabled homebuying process.

Maria Harris, chair of the OPDA, said: “Homebuyers are asked to supply proof of identification on average four times in each transaction in different ways and to different parties, creating a huge amount of duplication and discomfort for the consumer.

“Credas is helping to remove barriers and customer frustrations by supplying a digital identity which can be trusted and shared across the customer journey, and we welcome their involvement with the OPDA.”

The OPDA’s open data standards and models have been developed collaboratively with participants from across the property sector.

Early adopters of its standards for digital property packs have reported significant gains, with some seeing the time from mortgage offer and purchase acceptance to exchange of contracts reduced to just 15 days.