Shieldpay and My Home Move’s law firm subsidiary, Premier Property Lawyers, with the support of Barclays and conveyancers, the CLC, have used Shieldpay’s instant digital escrow facility to power the UK’s first fully digital mortgage settlement.

The participants believe the move brings “transformation” to the £245 billion mortgage market in the UK.

Shieldpay clams this proof of concept demonstrates that all parties involved in the mortgage process can reduce costs and liabilities associated with customer due diligence checks and the holding of funds. Business operations within conveyancing firms will be made more efficient, potentially improving the bottom line, they say.

Consumers can also benefit from more streamlined processes and greater visibility over their money throughout the process, certainty over the date of completion and the time when they can move into their new home.

Regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, Shieldpay’s transparent payment solution mitigates the risk of fraud by verifying the identity of all parties, holding funds securely and only releasing funds when all sides agree they’re happy.

John Stecher, chief innovation officer at Barclays, said: “Shieldpay has improved the efficiency of digital payments in a truly innovative way. The team has put a huge amount of effort into creating a ‘bank-grade’ payments platform that will change the way that people buy and sell valuable goods and services. They are definitely one to watch in the UK fintech industry.”

Peter Janes, CEO of Shieldpay, added: “For too long individuals and businesses have had to engage in unnecessary complexity when sending and receiving sizeable funds. Anyone who has ever bought or sold a home will know it’s probably the most important transaction of their lives but unfortunately, it’s also the most painful.

“They also suffer from a complete lack of transparency over the status of the transaction. We only have to look at the size of the mortgage market in the UK as an example to understand the benefits for enterprises and consumers of a completely digital payments process.

Doug Crawford, CEO, My Home Move, said: “Having completed the first residential property transaction with Shieldpay, we can see the immediate benefits that their solution brings and how moving day could be revolutionised for many home movers.

“Clients waiting with the removal van in the afternoon for money to reach the lawyers could soon be a thing of the past.”