Collaboration is critical in transforming the UK’s property market

PEXA, the fintech behind the world’s first digital property exchange platform and process, has today confirmed a range of collaborations, as it continues to grow with a focus on making the remortgage, buying and selling process better for UK consumers.

PEXA is working with an initial cohort of industry-leading origination platform providers, including Iress, nCino, Sopra Banking Software and Ohpen, to identify opportunities to enhance the integration of its proprietary platform with lenders and brokers alike, and reduce friction points for all involved in the conveyancing experience. PEXA is also today announcing three new law firms have joined the network as customers: PLS Solicitors, The Partnership, and Dutton Gregory Solicitors. These progressive and technology-focused firms will be onboarded on to PEXA’s platform, allowing them to work seamlessly with lenders that have onboarded with PEXA, benefitting from streamlined administration, quicker processes and greater transparency for clients. Announcing these new customers follows the successful acquisition of national conveyancing firm Optima Legal by PEXA in September 2022.

Plans are already underway to onboard further lenders and law firms in the UK throughout 2023. In 2024, PEXA aims to broaden its proposition to bring the same benefits it has brought to the remortgage process to the sale and purchase process.

Today’s announcement builds on PEXA’s significant progress towards streamlining the property remortgage and completion process since its launch in the UK. PEXA saw its first transaction in September 2022 with the lender Hinckley & Rugby Building Society and conveyancing firm Muve, resulting in the UK’s first ever digitally enabled remortgage transaction. Using PEXA’s proprietary technology meant the parties could orchestrate financial settlement directly from the incoming lender’s account, and seamlessly collaborate to lodge the application for registration with HM Land Registry, streamlining a process that typically takes days into minutes.

Last year, PEXA also announced Shawbrook Bank as the second lender in the UK to begin transacting remortgage cases through its platform. This was PEXA’s first collaboration with a retail bank and means PEXA’s customers in specialist mortgage markets benefit from an improved experience and faster completion times.

PEXA has also collaborated with the Bank of England to develop PEXA Pay – only the seventh net settlement payment scheme to clear through the Bank of England, and the only one dedicated to property transactions. The Bank of England is acting as the settlement service provider. The development marks the culmination of significant investment committed to the UK by PEXA, and the first step towards rolling out the system widely to transform the UK mortgage market.

PEXA has committed to more than A$100 million so far, and has established digital integrations with HMLR and the BoE. The company’s expansion into the UK market follows its success in Australia, where it has facilitated over 15 million property transactions worth circa AUD $3 trillion.

James Bawa, PEXA UK Chief Executive Officer, commented: “We have made significant progress to date in transforming the property market for consumers, lenders and law firms. The raft of collaborators we continue to engage with at pace is testament to the shared vision the industry holds in needing to change.

“We are delighted to be able to collaborate with the likes of Iress, nCino, Sopra and Ohpen, which all share our entrepreneurial spirit. Embracing a digitised remortgaging process will reduce the time, risk and costs involved, for consumers, lenders and firms alike. This couldn’t come at a more critical time, so we are pleased to have found such progressive technology collaborators who are as eager as PEXA to usher in a new era of efficiency.

“We are also so pleased to welcome three new law firms as customers: PLS Solicitors, The Partnership, and Dutton Gregory Solicitors. Their willingness to be early adopters, and their ability to provide unique industry and business insights, will considerably shape our product development and offering.

“But, we are just at the beginning. We’ve invested a great deal into transforming the UK property market and improving the remortgage process. As we build to reach a critical mass in the remortgage market, we want to bring the same benefits to sale and purchase, to deliver on the potential digital payment and conveyancing can make to the broader property market.”