Clients applying for a second charge mortgage with Optimum Credit via Freedom Finance can now use Nivo’s secure communications platform to Nivo ID Passport their personal details and biometric identity profile from broker to lender.

Freedom Finance has been using Nivo to digitise their broker operations since 2018. The technology allows customers to engage with agents over secure instant messaging and combines features such as biometric identity verification and open banking to improve the application process.

This latest initiative takes things one step further to improve efficiency between brokers and lenders. Traditionally, the broker would send a courier to verify ID documents and evidence for the loan. These documents would then be sent by post or email to the lender, and the lender would then complete various compliance checks. All this has now been replaced with a mobile journey through which the customer provides everything they need to Freedom, then taps a button to agree that Optimum can view this information – all within the same secure mobile app.

There is just one central copy of a customer’s personal information and identity data. It is owned by the customer, who has complete control over providing consent to allow for any particular service provider on the Nivo network to view it.

Craig Collins, wholesale director for Optimum Credit, said: “Receiving customer ID information from Freedom Finance through Nivo’s secure platform allows us to deliver a smoother and quicker journey through a platform that customers can actively engage with. It helps us to reduce identity theft and impersonation risks and has enabled us to eliminate some traditional processes saving significant amounts of customer effort.

“Being able to offer this service helps us keep ahead of the market by delivering a great experience for our customers.”

Josh Bowe, head of digital operations for Freedom Finance, added: “We hear a lot of talk in the industry about a future where customers can share a central trusted identity with multiple providers, so we’re proud to have partnered with Nivo to actually make it happen for the first time in our industry.

“It’s the latest in a series of customer focused improvements we’ve delivered together, and we’re already seeing the benefits of passporting an increasing number of customers through to Optimum through the service.”