In the IDV space, 2025 has become the year where we hit a turning point in our quest for digitalisation across the sector. The words ‘digital ID’ have been circulating not only in the industry but also in the press with many contributing ideologies on how we achieve and implement digital ID and how it can be beneficial.
Digitalisation as a whole among the property and legal sectors have been in high demand as compliance has become increasingly more complex and regulations more stringent, not to mention the ever-increasing issue of fraud.
Here at Credas, we’ve been championing digitalisation in the IDV space for years, and we’re thrilled to see the way is finally being paved on a much wider scale.
Why is the change happening?
Historically, compliance processes such as proving your identity and carrying out due diligence such as AML and KYC checks would be a long winded and drawn-out process; for some, it still is. Manually collecting documentation, verifying identity in person, having to scan in documents, ensuring proof of ID documents are within date and an authentic document is, in itself, exhausting and prone to human error. Plus, that’s only one part of the transaction; if you’re buying a house, you have to prove your identity, on average, 5.4 times to different service providers such as estate agents, solicitors, conveyancers, mortgage brokers, etc. This results in slow turnaround times, frustration for consumers and higher risk.
The change has come about now for a magnitude of reasons; not only are people fed up with the waiting times and the hassle of proving their identity, but the level of fraud has increased, regulations are tightening and the demand for digitalisation has grown due to the younger generation aging into making big consumer purchases which require due diligence. Society is now at a time where we expect things to move a lot quicker than ever before, there is also a greater level of threat present thanks to more sophisticated criminals working across the internet on a global scale.
Other reasons include:
Regulatory pressure and clarity – The government has also seen the need for digitalisation by moving to recognise and standardise digital identity use in AML/CTF frameworks; openly encouraging digital identity solutions over manual checks.
Updated frameworks – There has also been an update to the UK Digital Identity & Attributes Trust Framework (DIATF) certification. Gamma (0.4) was released July 01, 2025, and is a standard that Identity Service Providers (IDSPs) need to adhere to in order to manage ID verification digitally.
Pushback from the industry – There has been pushback to digitalise compliance for a while due to the friction and effort it takes to run manual IDV checks. In terms of operational realities, reliance on spreadsheets is riskier and more expensive in the long run, requiring more manpower, time and money than automated checks.
What would digitalisation mean in 2026?
Digitalisation has already started happening, with this year highlighting the potential of what it could become. 2026 will see the backing of regulators to push digitalisation, resulting in the drive to adopt automated checks across the board.
To go fully digital, estate agents, conveyancers, etc. would need to be using Identity Service Providers (IDSPs) to run their compliance checks. These IDSPs are certified against the UK’s Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework for IDV and are a safer, faster and the most compliant way to carry out identity verification. These IDSPs can also offer further compliance checks such as AML, PEPs & Sanctions, etc.
By using an IDSP in 2026, you are benefiting from –
- Verification carried out to the highest of standards, using biometric verification and NFC Chip
- Real time customer due diligence with automated risk scoring
- Electronic AML record keeping, audit trails and tamper-evident logs
- Ongoing monitoring
- Digital proof of address workflows and audit trails
Gone are the days of the spreadsheet era, compliance is now too complex and stringent to be left to do manually, and if checks aren’t completed correctly, hefty fines are in place to penalise companies that are not fully compliant.
Going beyond digitalisation
As digitalisation kicks into full gear, the advancements in tech are only getting better. In 2026 making the Credas Compliance Wallet available to the property and legal sector which will be the first of its kind in the form of sharable compliance.
The wallet will eliminate the friction among ID verification checks, allow faster onboarding and a lower dropout rate, reducing the need to verify your identity from 5.4 times on average to just once.
It will bring stronger auditability with automated logs, tamper-evident records and easier regulator reporting. Saving time, money and effort, the wallet will be easily accessible and sharable at a click of a button.
The wallet will be the safest method available to share data when it comes to IDV and compliance, with zero duplication, instant access and a hassle-free experience.
2025 was a year of change, particularly for throwing digital ID into the spotlight and setting the stage for more advanced tech in 2026. We are excited to see what lies beyond the spreadsheet era.
