Goodlord adds facial recognition technology as part of referencing revamp

Goodlord has released an enhanced version of its referencing service for letting agents across the UK. Their offering now includes bank-grade facial recognition technology and fully integrated Open Banking capabilities. 

As part of the update, all Goodlord customers will now be able to use a bank-grade authentication service that uses facial recognition to match photos of applicants to the photo on their ID. This biometric technology - which is used across airports and the financial sector - provides near-instant confirmation of tenants and guarantors’ identification, enabling agents to speed up and strengthen the process of referencing.

The service is one of many additional capabilities now on offer following the roll-out of Goodlord’s four new ‘service tiers’ for tenant and guarantor referencing. The new tiered options are designed to allow agents to select the features and services most suited to their needs; whether that’s prioritising cost and speed, or focusing on bespoke solutions. The four options are: Essential, Advanced, Advanced+, and Priority. 

Customers of all referencing tiers will benefit from the new facial recognition technology, while customers of the Advanced, Advanced+, and Priority tiers will also be able to take advantage of Open Banking and fraud analysis technology features. For example, one anti-fraud integration can identify when an email address domain was created to help flag fraudulent income claims or provision of references.

Goodlord has also increased the size of its in-house referencing team to ensure its service provision scales alongside the volume of new customers the business has seen since March. This increased capacity means the majority of references can be processed in less than 24 hours.  

The upgrades come as part of Goodlord’s commitment to continually evolve their offering in line with market needs; ensuring agents and landlords have all the tools they require to keep pace with regulations and consumer expectations.  

Kat Wynne-Ellis, Goodlord’s Head of Referencing, comments:

“We’ve invested heavily in Goodlord’s referencing capabilities over the last 9 months and today we’re excited to release these new products. They are designed to meet the varying needs of our customers and offer them the perfect blend of people and technology solutions to get references back quickly whilst driving up quality.

“With the constant shift in customers expectations, the evolving regulatory landscape, and the possibilities afforded by technology, our customers can’t afford for us to stand still. We’re really pleased to be launching such a wealth of new features this week and introducing a more flexible suite of options for agents and landlords to choose from when it comes to our services. With reduced capacity for in-person appointment, features such as facial recognition are more important than ever for ensuring safe, compliant lettings.”

The team at Kilmers Ltd Property Management, who have been trialling the facial recognition software, comments:

"We're very happy with the Goodlord service, especially the new tech features. We’ve already caught out a few people who tried to put forward fraudulent references. It's quick and an easy process to go through, with a fast turnaround."