With increased e-verification occurring within a number of life companies, brokers have called for lenders to accept the codes, allowing ‘quicker processing times and significantly reducing the risks of money laundering’.
E-verification enables advisers to provide sourcing systems or lenders with client details, including name, date-of-birth, address history and national insurance number. From this the customer will be verified and a three-month valid client code provided.
Despite its success in the life market Sarah Gwilt, mortgage adviser at Dickson Lishman Prince, reported that lenders have been slow to acknowledge and accept the process.
She said: “E-verification is very relevant as we have to do money laundering checks on every mortgage application we process. It saves loads of time obtaining ID and address verification, especially for clients who do business with us regularly as the address ID is only valid for three months.
“I can use this system now, but I know of no lenders that will accept the code. I think e-verification is a safer system as the money launderers have all the fake ID required.”
However, Alan Lakey, senior partner at Highclere Financial Services, dismissed the idea, labelling it as ‘superfluous’. He said: “Advisers are asked to provide proof of identity at the outset yet every lender requires the conveyancing solicitor to provide the same proof prior to completion. This means that advisers are wasting their time as the proof is being duplicated.
“I cannot see how money laundering can work with house purchase and it certainly cannot work with a remortgage. With a house purchase the solicitor would not accept a cash sum by way of deposit without raising some awkward questions for the purchaser. Therefore I cannot see how this could work without collusion by the solicitor.”
