PEXA, the digital property exchange platform, today announces the completion of the UK's first fully digital Purchase transaction.
The transaction took place as part of the testing of PEXA's Sale & Purchase proposition ahead of its full launch and widermarket roll out later this year. It marks an important milestone in PEXA's mission to streamline the home buying and sellingjourney.
Hinckley & Rugby Building Society was the first UK lender to complete a mortgage using PEXA, with national law firmMuve acting as the conveyancer within the PEXA workspace for both the purchaser and lender.
The transaction leveraged PEXA's proprietary payment scheme, PEXA Pay — the seventh net settlement paymentscheme to clear through the Bank of England. The technology enabled the settlement of funds from the incoming lender’s account to the seller's conveyancers verified account together with successful lodgement of title with HMLand Registry to complete the transaction promptly and securely giving peace of mind that both lender and purchase are protected.
This test transaction did not require the purchaser to introduce additional funds, although following PEXA's recent FCAapproval as an Authorised Payment Institution, PEXA can now receive funds directly from the consumer acting as a ThirdParty Managed Account (“TPMA") provider to conveyancers for property transactions.
The news builds on the already significant momentum the business has generated with its remortgage proposition, which had already processed over £100m in transactions by the end of January this year. This successful transaction has set the foundation for the market-wide launch of the Sale & Purchase offering later this year.
Commenting on the transaction, Joe Pepper, UK CEO of PEXA, said: ”Our mission has always been to helptransform the property market for the benefit of consumers, lenders and conveyancers. Today's completion of the UK's first digital purchase transaction is a landmark achievement in this journey. By leveraging our platform and PEXA Pay scheme, we have demonstrated how technology can simplify and expedite what has traditionally been a complex and time-consuming process.
“This milestone is a testament to the collaborative spirit of the UK property market, particularly forward-thinking organisations like Hinckley & Rugby Building Society and Muve who were also the first industry players to test PEXA's remortgage proposition. They have been early believers in the power of PEXA, and their commitment to innovation has been instrumental in making this breakthrough possible.
“The successful trial transaction is a precursor to the launch of our Sale & Purchase offering later this year. This is justthe beginning, and we will continue to invest in the UK market to deliver better outcomes for all stakeholders, makingproperty transactions faster, simpler and more secure.”
Laura Sneddon, Head of Sales and Distribution at Hinckley & Rugby Building Society, added: “We arealways eager to embrace innovation and work with partners who share our vision for a more efficient and modernised property market. PEXA’s fully digital Sale & Purchase platform represents a significant step forward in streamlining the mortgage and completion process, and we are proud to have been the first UK lender to complete a transaction using this ground breaking technology.
"Our team has worked closely with PEXA to test and implement this platform, and today's successful transactiondemonstrates the potential for this technology to transform the property market. We look forward to continuing ourpartnership with PEXA to deliver enhanced services for our customers and to lead the way in digital innovation within thelending industry.”
David Jabbari, Founder and CEO of Muve, commented: “This achievement underscores the transformativepotential of PEXA’s platform to improve the conveyancing process.
"Muve is committed to driving innovation in the legal sector, and this collaboration aligns perfectly with ourmission to deliver cutting-edge solutions for our clients. We are proud to have played a key role in this historictransaction and look forward to working with PEXA to bring the benefits of digital conveyancing to moreconsumers across the UK.”
