The problem
Every purchase and sale needs client ID and source of funds checks, and chasing certified copies and bank statements eats caseworker time. If you check 40 clients a month and the paperwork takes 25 minutes each, that's 1,000 minutes, about 16.7 hours a month.
What the AI does
Thirdfort is a checking service that clients complete themselves in its app, covering ID, anti-money-laundering and source of funds checks. Your team sends the request, the client completes it, and your fee earner reviews the result. Thirdfort says it only charges for checks that are completed. The firm stays responsible for its customer due diligence decisions under the Money Laundering Regulations and the SRA's requirements, so the fee earner or your money laundering reporting officer still decides whether the checks are satisfactory.
A worked example
A three-fee-earner residential conveyancing firm in Leeds checks about 40 clients a month across sales and purchases. They use Thirdfort Essentials for client checks, and the fee earner reviews every result before the file moves on.
Before
25 minutes of ID and source of funds paperwork per client: about 16.7 hours a month
After
About 10 minutes per client to send the request and review the result: about 6.7 hours a month
What it's worth
About 10 hours a month saved (15 minutes x 40 clients = 600 minutes), worth around £400 if caseworker time is worth £40 an hour. Essentials costs £167 a month, or about £200 with VAT, so about £200 is left to cover credits, roughly £5 for each of the 40 checks. Thirdfort doesn't publish credit prices, so ask for them first; the setup only pays back if your credit cost per client is under about £5 at this volume.
How to set it up
- Ask Thirdfort for credit prices for the checks you run and for the contract terms; Essentials is a 12-month contract.
- Check what Thirdfort holds on data protection and where it is processed, and sign a data processing agreement before you send a client request.
- Decide in writing who reviews results: the fee earner for routine files and your money laundering reporting officer for anything unusual.
- Add a line to your client care pack telling clients they will get a Thirdfort request and that the firm, not Thirdfort, decides what is acceptable.
- Run five live files through it alongside your usual process before switching over.
What goes wrong
- A completed check is not a decision. Under the Money Laundering Regulations and your firm-wide risk assessment a person at the firm still has to judge it, and record why.
- Credit prices aren't published and Essentials is a 12-month contract. At low volumes the platform fee can cost more than the time saved.
- Some clients, including elderly sellers, will not manage an app. Keep a manual route and do not let that slow their matter.
- Source of funds results are personal financial data. Keep them on the file, apply your retention policy and limit who can see them.