Shieldpay Power The World’s First Fully Digital Property Chain Transaction

Shieldpay Power The World’s First Fully Digital Property Chain Transaction

  • The world’s first fully digital property chain transaction took place last week, powered by Shieldpay’s instant digital escrow facility
  • Shieldpay’s digital payments is transforming moving day across the UK by making simultaneous morning key releases possible across a whole chain of transactions
  • This meant real-time digital authorisations of payments were made by conveyancers at four different locations across the UK
  • The payment solution has brought transparency and efficiency to transactions and reduces the risk of fraud

The world’s first fully digital property chain transaction took place last week with My Home Move’s law firm subsidiary, Premier Property Lawyers and DC Law, powered by Shieldpay’s instant digital escrow facility. This chain transaction is an industry first, following Shieldpay’s first fully digital real estate transaction earlier this year, which transformed the £245 billion mortgage market in the UK.

In this milestone achievement, Shieldpay streamlined a two-property chain transaction by replacing the use of the buyer’s and seller’s conveyancer’s client monies accounts (CMA’s). Shieldpay validated the identity of all parties in the transaction, as well as their bank accounts, and consolidated funds from the buyer and lender. Real-time digital authorisations made it possible for conveyancers in four different physical locations to authorise the distribution of funds to sellers, estate agents and conveyancers in real time.

Shieldpay’s real time digital payment platform transforms moving day – one of the most stressful parts of the home buying process. Recent research conducted by Shieldpay and the Homeowners Alliance, shows that 34% of people who bought a home in the last two years had to chase their bank or lawyer on the whereabouts of funds on completion day. Shieldpay makes this level of uncertainty a thing of the past. Shieldpay’s platform provides full transparency on funds to all parties involved, streamlining the process for lenders and conveyancers by acting as a centralised account for all transaction funds, rather than multiple client monies accounts. This diminishes operational costs for all parties, with conveyancing firms becoming more efficient by reducing the completion time and enhancing the overall experience for both buyers and sellers.

Shieldpay has been named as a suitable supplier to the Bar Council and the CLC have directly supported all pilots carried out by Shieldpay alongside CLC-regulated firms. Shieldpay also meet the requirements for Third Party Managed Accounts as outlined by the SRA and CiLex.

In addition to real estate transactions, Shieldpay can accelerate multi-million-pound M&A deals and power payments for classifieds sites and e-commerce marketplaces as well as protecting peer-peer payments, such as buying or selling a car online. Fully regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, Shieldpay’s transparent payment solution also 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.

Geoff Dunnett, Real Estate Director of Shieldpay, comments: “This first chain transaction is a great milestone for us and validation of the ultimate benefits that Shieldpay can bring to closing day mechanics for the industry.”

Simon Law, Director & Head of Legal Practice at DC Law, comments: “The use of Shieldpay in a chain transaction for the first time further illustrates the advantages that conveyancers and their clients can benefit from using such a payment system. Knowing that funds are in place and payments will be made swiftly will allow clients to get on with their move without the anxious wait for funds to be transferred between conveyancers.”

Doug Crawford, CEO My Home Move comments: “This is another positive step towards changes that could revolutionise moving day for many of our homemoving clients. We’re excited to be working with Shieldpay to explore the possibilities that Third Party Managed Accounts can bring”.

Rob Gurney, Head of Legal Practice, Premier Property Lawyers comments: “It would be easy to underestimate the significance of this event but we are genuinely excited to see a chain of transactions occur instantly with no delays as money moved from one lawyer to the other. This type of completion, pre-planned, opens up the possibility of evening and weekend completions where that is what works for the clients. It changes everything.”

Toni Ryder-McMullin

Toni is the Media Officer for Today’s Conveyancer, Today’s Wills & Probate and Today's Family Lawyer. I worked for a law firm for 16 years, during my time at the firm I worked as a company commercial legal secretary for 7 years but changed careers and moved into marketing for the remaining 9 years – where I covered all aspects of marketing. While in the marketing role, I achieved a CIM Professional Certificate in Marketing and CAM Diploma in Digital Marketing.

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