House purchase ID verification firm joins the OPDA

Credas, a provider of identity verification for house purchases has joined the Open Property Data Association (OPDA). 

The OPDA's mission is to make the homebuying process faster and more transparent through the sharing of digital property information. 

Credas provides services to estate agents and conveyancers, covering 60% of ID checks on UK housing transactions. Its vision is to speed up the process of customer onboarding and compliance checks through a simple, automated process. 

Founded in June 2023, the OPDA promotes the use of trusted open property data and provide a forum for collaboration and innovation in the industry. The Association also created the property data trust framework which seeks to allow safe and secure access and sharing of verified data to improve the homebuying and mortgage experience for consumers and industry professionals. 

Since its launch, OPDA has delivered open property data standards and models for trustable and shareable data. The free and open-source tools have been created and tested in collaboration with every sector across the property industry. Those using OPDA’s data standards for digital property packs have seen the time reduced from mortgage offer and purchase accepted to exchange of contracts within 15 days. 

CEO of Credas, Tim Barnett, 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.”

Maria Harris, chair of the OPDA, added: “Homebuyers are asked for 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.”