FBM Estate Agents has rolled out the Credas identity verification solution to its five offices in and around Pembrokeshire.
Headquartered in Tenby, FBM was looking for a simple and easily accessible solution to carry out anti-money laundering checks and identity verification for its customers. It also needed a solution that could work remotely so that customers could verify their identity in their own time and at a location that suits them.
It is now part of the anti-money laundering regulations that estate agents must verify both the seller and buyer in a property selling process – meaning that the administrative burden of carrying out these checks falls firmly at the estate agent’s doorstep. For FBM, many of its customers are elderly and so the mobile accessibility and usability of the Credas app has enabled the company to significantly increase the speed of its anti-money laundering verifications, without compromising an individual’s security and data.
The first of its kind in the UK, Credas provides companies legally required to verify essential identification documents an easy and secure way to match the photo identification with the actual person instantly, by using an app.
Ed Spence, of FBM estate agents, which has offices in Tenby, Haverfordwest, Narberth, Pembroke and Milford Haven, said:
“We have been using Credas for a few months now and it has made a massive difference to our business.
“As well as selling houses to local people, we also sell many holiday homes to people from all over the UK. Verifying identification for people all over the country was always a pinch point for us as a business and slowed down the whole process. When we heard about Credas we knew that it could be the solution we were looking for.
“The remote ability of Credas means that we don’t have to wait for the buyer to be back in the area or for them to send their identification documents in for verification, we simply send them a verification request and Credas does the rest. We have already verified hundreds of customers using Credas’ technology. The app is so reliable and quick, we can now do this in minutes, allowing us to get back to the job at hand – selling houses.
“We also know that our customer’s data is stored somewhere secure and that we are meeting the AML compliance requirements when it comes to verifying our clients. As well as the time and money savings, we have been able to develop better customer relationships – as our customers can verify their documents at a time and place that’s convenient to them.”
Credas’ technology works in a range of sectors, including recruiters, mortgage and finance providers and any business which needs to verify identity to comply with regulations. It can help companies comply with Right to Rent, anti-money laundering, modern slavery, know your customer and anti-fraud legislation.
The Credas platform is cloud based and mobile-ready, ensuring that the verification process can happen swiftly, safely and at any time that’s convenient to the client and user.
