Digital ID verification can make property transactions more efficient, less prone to fraud

In the UK, Russia, South Korea, India and Pakistan, biometrics are making their way into real estate transactions, as digital identity options slash transaction times and increase access to key financial tools.

The UK government has announced a major new plan to make buying and selling homes faster and more affordable. A release from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government says that “under a fully digitalised home buying and selling process, the information key parties need – from mortgage companies to surveyors – will be within reach immediately, with the necessary identity checks carried out once.”

Government plans for digital identity verification services also include the property sector.

In Russia, the State Duma looks set to adopt a government bill allowing biometrics to be used for online registration of real estate titles. IZ quotes a government official, who says the initiative  enabling the Unified Biometric System (UBS) to submit documents for the registration of real estate in electronic form  is intended to “further protect citizens from fraudsters who can often sell apartments remotely, without the personal presence of the owners.”

South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has announced an effort to fight false real estate transactions in Karrot Market, a popular online trading and sales app wherein direct real estate transactions are not covered by regulations. According to Maeil Business Newspaper, sellers must now perform real-name authentication for certification that they own the houses they are selling. Karrot Market has already begun requiring existing members to go through self-certification when registering for real estate sales.

In Chandigarh, India, the government will enable biometric authentication for property registration through Aadhaar, in order to streamline the identity verification process for buyers and sellers. Prop News Time reports that the administration has shared a proposal with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and is awaiting approval.

Meanwhile, biometric verification is now a mandatory requirement for issuing stamp papers, a component of Pakistan’s e-Stamping system tied to real estate transactions. CW Pakistan says that the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration will no longer consider stamp papers issued without biometric authentication to be valid, in a move aimed at preventing forgery and streamlining transactions.

Canada has also seen recent convergence between real estate and biometric digital identity verification, with a deal between identity verification provider Fintracker and FCT, one of Canada’s biggest providers of title insurance and real estate technology.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  digital identity  |  financial services  |  identity verification  |  India  |  Pakistan  |  real estate  |  Russia  |  South Korea  |  UK