Much of the debate around speeding up home buying focuses on obvious steps, completing searches, returning contracts, or securing a mortgage offer. But some of the biggest delays come from steps most buyers don’t even realise are happening, like anti-money laundering (AML) checks, especially source of funds and ID verification.
These checks are more than just tick-box exercises – they are essential for protecting the property market from fraud, money laundering, and other financial crime. But the way they are often carried out, manually, repetitively, and with little coordination, adds unnecessary time.
Why It Matters
For conveyancers, outdated AML processes create more admin. Buyers get asked for the same information multiple times, documents are posted or emailed insecurely, and information is re-keyed into different systems. For lenders, this can mean slower completions, higher fall-through risk, and a poorer borrower experience at a time when speed and certainty are critical.
Checks have to be redone when details change, compounding delays. And because this all happens behind the scenes, the buyer is left wondering why nothing seems to be moving.
The Real-World Impact
Behind the admin, the consequences are very real. Transactions fall through because the buyer’s funds can’t be verified in time. Buyers chase bank statements or struggle to prove deposits. Conveyancers get tied up in paperwork while estate agents deal with frustrated clients. When these steps drag, the whole chain feels it.
For lenders, those frustrations often land at your back door, whether in the form of a borrower losing confidence in the process, or a delayed drawdown impacting service-level agreements. That’s why taking an active interest in how your panel firms handle these checks isn’t just good governance, it’s good business.
Why the “Paper Chase” Still Exists
The technology to fix this already exists, so why are we still relying on manual processes? Habit plays a big role. Paper-based processes have simply been lifted online without being redesigned. Many firms also rely on a patchwork of legacy systems that don’t integrate, meaning data can’t move smoothly from one check to another.
And with AML regulations tightening, some firms adopt a “better the devil you know” approach, sticking with familiar processes rather than embracing change. Ironically, this often increases both risk and cost.
Awareness is another barrier. Many firms simply don’t know that you can now securely check multiple bank accounts in minutes, or run ID verification in a way that works for both the client and the law firm, without sending them through a maze of different apps and websites.
What Lenders Can Do Now
Government reforms will help, but they won’t fix these bottlenecks overnight. Lenders can take practical steps to speed things up:
- Ask your panel firms how they’re handling checks: Instead of running ID, proof of address, and source of funds separately, look for services that can combine them.
- Use digital where it counts: Digital ID can remove huge amounts of friction, especially when paired with live bank data. But the tech should fit the process, not the other way around.
- Train for efficiency: Even with the best tools, unclear processes can still slow you down. Make sure everyone knows exactly how to request, review, and approve documents.
Encouraging panel firms to adopt robust, digital source of funds checks can help lenders reduce bottlenecks, cut the risk of transactions collapsing, and support faster drawdown of funds.
Why This Needs Fixing Quickly
If these delays aren’t addressed, the problems will get worse. Fraudsters are becoming more sophisticated, and regulators are tightening requirements. Without smarter, faster processes, the industry risks slowing down further under the weight of its own compliance.
The opportunity is right in front of us. By rethinking how we run ID and source of funds checks, the small steps no one sees, we can make home buying faster, safer, and far less stressful. It’s not just about new laws or big industry reforms; it’s about fixing the invisible bottlenecks that hold everyone up.
