WHY THIS MATTERS:
Access to home ownership in the UK is increasingly shaped by affordability assessments, regulatory scrutiny and the efficiency of onboarding journeys. As alternative finance models such as Home Purchase Plans gain traction, providers must balance inclusivity with rigorous compliance across income verification, affordability and AML checks. Manual processes introduce friction that can exclude viable applicants and slow growth. This partnership reflects a wider fintech trend toward embedding AI-driven verification directly into customer-facing platforms, transforming complex eligibility checks into real-time decisioning. By unifying income, credit and compliance data in a single workflow, property finance providers can offer clearer pathways to ownership while meeting FCA expectations. Automation is becoming a key enabler of fairer access to housing finance, not just an operational upgrade.
London-based fintech Sikoia has announced a new partnership with HomeNow, a UK property finance provider offering a clear, affordable pathway to home ownership through FCA-regulated Home Purchase Plans (HPPs).
As part of the partnership, Sikoia’s technology will be embedded directly within the HomeNow platform, automating critical verification processes and enabling a faster, more accessible, and fully compliant customer journey – helping renters turn monthly payments into a future deposit.
As part of its strategy to deliver a seamless and friction-free experience, HomeNow has selected Sikoia’s AI-powered verification platform to AI-powered verification platform to a automate document processing across income, employment, and affordability assessment, replacing manual review with real-time verification and analysis.
Alongside automated document processes, HomeNow is also accessing additional data services through the Sikoia platform, including identity verification, consumer credit reporting, and AML screening.
This approach enables HomeNow to reduce manual effort, progress applications faster, and deliver a clearer, more consistent experience for customers, while maintaining strong regulatory controls as the business scales.
Gareth Ship, COO at HomeNow, said
“Partnering with Sikoia supports our goal of delivering a transparent and accessible route to homeownership,” said a HomeNow spokesperson.
“Automating verification and compliance checks as part of our own digital platform allows us to progress applications faster, reduce manual touchpoints, and give customers a clearer, more consistent experience as they pursue their path to ownership.”
Sikoia’s platform provides automated verification across document completeness and integrity checks, income and employment verification, and affordability assessment using bank statements and/or open banking data.
Alexis Rog, Founder and CEO of Sikoia, said:
“HomeNow is taking an automation-first approach to helping more people onto the housing ladder. We’re excited to partner with them to unify income, affordability, and compliance checks in one platform, improving the applicant experience while supporting their rapid growth.”
FF NEWS TAKE:
This collaboration highlights how verification technology is moving from back-office support to core product infrastructure. The real impact will be seen in approval speed and customer clarity. Watch for more housing finance providers adopting automation-first models as alternative routes to ownership continue to expand.
