NATIONWIDE has pulled mortgage deeds into the 21st century, becoming the first UK lender to let borrowers sign one electronically without needing a witness. One broker described the announcement as “a brilliant move forward” but a conveyancer cautioned “most of the market is nowhere near ready”.
Homebuyers and remortgagers will now be able to sign their mortgage deed online using a Qualified Electronic Signature (QES), as long as their solicitor or conveyancer is set up for QES.
Nationwide says it will speed up transactions, cut the back-and-forth admin, and make the process more secure.
The move, made possible through collaboration with HM Land Registry, Your Conveyancer and Veyco, forms part of Britain’s biggest building society’s continued efforts to digitalise and speed up the homebuying process.
A mortgage deed is a legal document tying a person’s mortgage to their property. It has traditionally required a physical signature on paper.
However, Nationwide will now allow QES – a secure type of electronic signature that has been identity-verified – to be used following HM Land Registry’s decision in August 2025 to begin accepting them as part of the mortgage application process.
A QES offers better protection for consumers. It proves who signed the deed, better protects against tampering and has the equivalent legal standing of a handwritten, witnessed signature. It also ensures that contract exchanging can happen much quicker.
Henry Jordan, Nationwide’s Group Director of Mortgages, said: “Nationwide is committed to speeding up the homebuying process and reducing the stress and inconvenience that can come with buying a home.”
A brilliant move forward
Shaun Sturgess, Director at Swansea-based Sturgess Mortgage Solutions, said the industry is finally removing friction that has been slowing property transactions for no good reason. He argues this should cut delays, reduce stress and actually strengthen consumer security. He also expects other lenders to follow.
Sturgess said: “This is a brilliant move forward and very much in line with the digital world we now live in. Anything that removes unnecessary friction from the mortgage and conveyancing process is a positive step for both borrowers and the professionals advising them.
“For too long, simple administrative stages like wet signatures and witnessing have caused avoidable delays, often holding up completions for days or even weeks. Allowing secure, verified electronic signatures on mortgage deeds has the potential to significantly speed up transactions and reduce stress for buyers and remortgagers alike.
“Importantly, this isn’t about cutting corners. Qualified Electronic Signatures offer strong identity verification and legal protection, so consumer security isn’t being compromised.
“In many ways, it’s an improvement on traditional paper-based systems. I would fully expect other lenders to follow Nationwide’s lead over time.”
Leading the charge
Riz Malik, Director at Southend-on-Sea-based R3 Wealth, said the wider property process still looks overdue for a proper rebuild. But he says change needs someone willing to go first, and Nationwide could be setting the pace.
Malik said: “In the age of driverless cars, it is great that parts of the property process are changing with the times. The whole house-buying process in the UK needs ripping up and starting again, but it needs brave innovators to lead the revolution. Maybe Nationwide can lead the charge?”
Jamie Alexander, Mortgage Director at Romsey-based Alexander Southwell Mortgages, called it a genuinely big shift because deeds have clung to paper longer than almost anything else. He says it should cut errors, stop paperwork going missing, and shave days off remortgages in particular.
Alexander said: “This is a genuinely big step forward. Mortgage deeds have been one of the last stubbornly paper-based parts of the process, so removing wet-ink signatures and witnesses is a breakthrough.
“It will speed up completions, reduce admin errors, and remove delays caused by paperwork being posted, signed incorrectly, or lost. For remortgages in particular, this could shave days off the process. Done properly, this is exactly the kind of change the home buying process needs: practical, secure, and genuinely client-friendly, not just “digital for the sake of it”.
Long-overdue upgrade
Justin Moy, Managing Director at Chelmsford-based EHF Mortgages said it is a long-overdue upgrade that saves real time and real money. He pointed to fewer postal delays for remortgages, and argued that missed or slow delivery can leave borrowers paying unnecessary interest while they wait.
Moy added: “This is a significant step in conveyancing, finally embracing the opportunities of digital signatures. As our preferred conveyancing firm for remortgages, EHF Mortgages’ clients will automatically benefit from the time and effort savings delivered by Your Conveyancer, avoiding the need for Royal Mail’s hit-and-miss delivery service, which costs borrowers a fortune in additional interest each year.”
But Chris Barry, Director at Thomas Legal, a nationwide conveyancing firm, had concerns, warning that most of the market is nowhere near ready.
He cautioned the early success relies on tech-enabled firms integrating with other platforms, while thousands of conveyancers still lack the tools, budget or capacity to adopt this quickly. He backed e-signatures as the direction of travel but said the sector is still heavily paper-based.
Barry said: “This sadly is still a long way off. The successful trial was a tech-enabled conveyancing firm integrated into another tech firm. There are 4500 conveyancing firms, most of which have no technology, and those that do are unlikely to have the budget or resources to integrate systems.
“Development time is expensive and far from straightforward. Whilst e-signatures are absolutely the way forward, conveyancing is still stuck behind paper, post and dictation.”
Photo by Sebastian Coman Photography on Unsplash
