Land Registry has announced its intention to procure an electronic funds transfer (EFT) system which will underpin its e-conveyancing service due to be released in stages from 2007. EFT will allow money to be transferred from buyer to seller while simultaneously paying fees such as stamp duty land tax. Land Registry will then automatically update its database with the new owner’s details. The new system will remove the delays which currently prolong the registration process.
EFT will need to be faster than the traditional methods of payment such as CHAPS and the provider must demonstrate that their solution is secure and provides certainty, immediacy and irrevocability in the movement of funds.
Liz Hirst, e-conveyancing Programme Manager, said: “This is the first time that a government department has looked to procure a new EFT system of this type. Over 70 per cent of our customers tell us that they are keen to see a better system for moving money when a property changes hands*. We look forward to working with the successful bidder to bring about this much-needed change to the house-buying process in England and Wales.”
* According to a GfK NOP survey undertaken for Land Registry in February 2006, 77 per cent of conveyancers said that they were likely to take up a new EFT system.
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Notes to editors
- For more information on the invitation to tender, please visit the OJEU website http://ted.europa.eu/ Exec?DataFlow=ShowPage&Template= TED/N_one_result_detail_curr.htm&docnumber=118015%202006&docId=118015-2006&StatLang=EN
- E-conveyancing replaces the current paper-based conveyancing system with electronic documents, requisitions and signatures and is a central pillar of the government’s agenda to modernise public services.
- With the world’s largest property database of over 20 million titles, Land Registry underpins the economy by guaranteeing ownership of many billions of pounds worth of property. Around £1million worth of property is processed every minute in England and Wales.
- As a government department established in 1862, executive agency and trading fund responsible to the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and Lord Chancellor, Land Registry keeps and maintains the Land Register for England and Wales. The Land Register has been an open document since 1990.
Quelle/Source: Land Registry Press Office, 22.06.2006
