"This milestone is a testament to the collaborative spirit of the UK property market, particularly forward-thinking organisations like Hinckley & Rugby Building Society and Muve who were also the first industry players to test PEXA's remortgage proposition"
- Joe Pepper - PEXA
In partnership with Hinckley & Rugby Building Society and Muve, PEXA has completed the UK’s first entirely digital home purchase.
The transaction formed part of a testing phase for PEXA’s Sale & Purchase platform, which is set to launch more widely later this year, marking a key step in the firm’s aim to streamline the property buying and selling process.
Hinckley & Rugby Building Society became the first UK lender to complete a mortgage using PEXA’s platform. National law firm Muve acted as the conveyancer within the PEXA workspace on behalf of both the purchaser and the lender.
At the core of the transaction was PEXA’s own payment system, PEXA Pay, the seventh net settlement payment scheme to be cleared through the Bank of England. The system allowed funds from the incoming lender to be transferred securely to the verified account of the seller’s conveyancer. The process included the lodgement of title with HM Land Registry, completing the transaction with minimal delay and offering both parties security in the transfer.
While the buyer in this test case was not required to add additional funds, PEXA is now authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority as a payment institution. This approval enables PEXA to act as a third party managed account (TPMA) provider, allowing it to receive funds directly from buyers and transfer them to conveyancers during property transactions.
The company’s remortgage platform has already processed over £100m in transactions as of the end of January. This latest trial serves as a foundation for the upcoming market-wide rollout of the Sale & Purchase offering.
“Our mission has always been to help transform the property market for the benefit of consumers, lenders and conveyancers," said PEXA's UK CEO Joe Pepper. "Today's completion of the UK's first digital purchase transaction is a landmark achievement in this journey. By leveraging our platform and PEXA Pay scheme, we have demonstrated how technology can simplify and expedite what has traditionally been a complex and time-consuming process.
“This milestone is a testament to the collaborative spirit of the UK property market, particularly forward-thinking organisations like Hinckley & Rugby Building Society and Muve who were also the first industry players to test PEXA's remortgage proposition. They have been early believers in the power of PEXA, and their commitment to innovation has been instrumental in making this breakthrough possible."
“The successful trial transaction is a precursor to the launch of our Sale & Purchase offering later this year. This is just the beginning, and we will continue to invest in the UK market to deliver better outcomes for all stakeholders, making property transactions faster, simpler and more secure.”
Laura Sneddon, head of safes and distribution at Hinckley & Rugby Building Society, added, “We are always eager to embrace innovation and work with partners who share our vision for a more efficient and modernised property market. PEXA’s fully digital Sale & Purchase platform represents a significant step forward in streamlining the mortgage and completion process, and we are proud to have been the first UK lender to complete a transaction using this groundbreaking technology.
"Our team has worked closely with PEXA to test and implement this platform, and today's successful transaction demonstrates the potential for this technology to transform the property market. We look forward to continuing our partnership with PEXA to deliver enhanced services for our customers and to lead the way in digital innovation within the lending industry.”
David Jabbari, founder and CEO of Muve, said, “This achievement underscores the transformative potential of PEXA’s platform to improve the conveyancing process.
"Muve is committed to driving innovation in the legal sector, and this collaboration aligns perfectly with our mission to deliver cutting-edge solutions for our clients. We are proud to have played a key role in this historic transaction and look forward to working with PEXA to bring the benefits of digital conveyancing to more consumers across the UK.”
