A tool designed to provide accurate digital verification and prevent money laundering for high-value transactions has now reached over 2milion downloads for smartphone users.
Five per cent of UK adult users who own a smartphone have now used Thirdfort, an app based platform that uses AI alongside biometric verification to ‘quickly carry out ID and funds verification’ for high-value transactions such as homebuying.
Thirdfort, a client due diligence platform that integrates Know Your Client (KYC), Anti-Money Laundering (AML), and Source-of-Funds (SoF) verification, has surpassed two million downloads since it’s launch in 2019.
The app, launched in 2019, has seen downloads double in just over a year, amidst rising fraud and money laundering risks.
Thirdfort say that their mission is to ‘protect society from fraud and money laundering’. The platform offers what the company is calling simple and secure client due diligence checks for regulated professionals, through automated ID verification, anti-money laundering and Source of Funds checks on individuals and businesses. This will be useful for conducting high value transactions such as buying property, drafting a will or instructing a financial advisor.
Overall, Thirdfort has now verified swathes of people on behalf of more than 1,500 conveyancers, lawyers, estate agents, accountants and other regulated professional services firms.
Demand for Thirdfort has risen off the back of growing fraud and money laundering risk, a problem that continues to grow. Money laundering costs the UK economy £100bn annually, while the UK Government reportedly lost £21bn to fraud between 2020-2022 according to the National Audit Office.
Analysis from accountancy firm BDO found that the value of reported fraud had more than doubled to £2.3bn in 2023.
Olly Thornton-Berry, co-founder and Managing Director at Thirdfort, said: “Reaching around 5 per cent of adult smartphone users in the UK is a major achievement for Thirdfort, but it only scratches the surface of the problem we aim to address.
“The compliance burden on regulated professionals continues to increase, from lawyers and estate agents, through to accountants and finance professionals. Our technology makes compliance simple and secure and, crucially, reduces fraud and money laundering risk.”
During a typical transaction such as buying a home, consumers can be asked to repeat the same manual identity, AML and funds checks numerous times.
This involves their professional advisers manually collecting and verifying ID documents such as passports, alongside bills and bank statements. This slows down transactions and creates a bad experience for all. It is also insecure and prone to human error.
Using AI, biometric verification and Open Banking, Thirdfort simplifies such verification, enabling clients to securely confirm their ID and source of funds via their mobile phone. As a result, Thirdfort has transformed a cumbersome process that has historically taken weeks into one that takes just minutes.
Analysis by U Switch states: “As of March 2021, the UK digital population accounted for approximately 40 million unique users on smartphones, compared to 21.6 million tablet users, and 30.4 million desktop users.”
