"It will allow us to change the way real estate transactions are undertaken, improving the homebuying process in the UK and beyond."
Its third Party Managed Account solution removes the need for solicitors to hold client money and enables parties to complete on transactions from anywhere at any time, including weekends and bank holidays.
Shieldpay says the solution also mitigates the risk of fraud, removing the need for multiple payments across multiple accounts, and can also speed up property transactions.
In May this year, Shieldpay successfully completed the UK’s first fully digital real estate transaction with MyHomeMove and Barclays, with the support of the Council for Licensed Conveyancers.
Shieldpay was awarded the grand from Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation which is a non-departmental public body funded by a grant-in-aid from the UK government.
Geoff Dunnett, real estate director at Shieldpay, said: “This grant recognises the transformative work we are doing in this sector. It will allow us to change the way real estate transactions are undertaken, improving the homebuying process in the UK and beyond.”
Stephen Ward, director of strategy and external relations at the Council for Licensed Conveyancers, commented: “The CLC is delighted to have supported pilots of the use of Shieldpay’s escrow system in Conveyancing transactions.
"Those pilots have demonstrated the potential value of modern digital escrow in reducing risks as money changes hands and by improving the homebuying process more broadly. We look forward to the development of this tool and encourage others to work with us as we support innovation in Conveyancing.”
