HSBC UK has partnered with the Open Property Data Association (OPDA) to enable the sharing of digital property information across the mortgage market.

Several other UK financial institutions have recently joined the OPDA including Nationwide, which announced its membership in July, and Lloyds Banking Group, which signed up in March.

The OPDA implements open data standards and encourages data sharing across the property industry through the use of open source tools.

The trade association claims that sharing standardised data in a digital and trusted format will make the process of buying and selling a property easier and quicker.

Users of data standards for digital property packs have seen the time reduced from mortgage offer and purchase accepted to exchange of contracts within 15 days compared to the industry average of 22 weeks.

“Joining the OPDA is a significant step for us to help play a part in further improving the home buying process,” said Oli O’Donoghue, head of mortgages at HSBC UK. “This move aligns with our commitment to putting our customers first by enhancing their experience of buying a home through greater transparency, while giving customers greater control.”

O’Donoghue added that the membership will allow the bank to contribute to the development of digital services, which he said is a “key strategic priority” for the organisation as a “digital-first” bank.

Last month Open Banking Limited (OBL) announced that 10 million consumers and small businesses are using Open Banking technology in the UK.

The implementation agency estimates that the Open Banking ecosystem is already worth over £4 billion to the UK economy, which it says has attracted investment and facilitated the creation of almost 5000 skilled digital jobs across the country.

OBL chief executive Henk Van Hulle recently told FStech that the organisation has called for the Labour government’s Digital Information and Smart Data Bill to be prioritised because it could unlock the smart data economy in the UK, which the Department of Business and Trade says could increase GDP by £28 billion.

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