London, February 11, 2026, 12:41 GMT
Nationwide Building Society on Tuesday said it’s now letting borrowers sign mortgage deeds electronically, doing away with the tradition of a witnessed wet-ink signature. The lender called the change a UK first, and confirmed it plans to use Qualified Electronic Signatures (QES) for both home purchases and remortgages.
Nationwide is going after a persistent snag in the UK homebuying process: while much has shifted online, the deed securing the loan has typically remained stubbornly paper-based. The lender said its QES rollout could trim delays around contract exchange and registration—steps that often slow completions.
Industry groups are urging lenders and lawyers to speed things up as transaction chains grow longer. Mary-Lou Press, who heads the NAEA Propertymark trade body, pointed out that over 30% of housing deals now drag on for more than 17 weeks on average. She called digital signing “welcome news” if it can cut out needless delays. ireland-live.ie
A QES, or qualified electronic signature, functions as an identity-verified digital signature with the same legal power as a witnessed wet-ink signature—as long as the borrower’s solicitor or conveyancer is equipped to process it. Conveyancers manage the legal documentation for property sales or remortgages.
Nationwide has completed its first remortgage using the unwitnessed electronic deed, PropertyWire reports—a process that brought together HM Land Registry, conveyancer Your Conveyancer, and e-signature firm Veyco. Nicholas Mendes, mortgage technical manager at broker John Charcol, pointed to “the key now is adoption” throughout the sector. PropertyWire
Henry Jordan, group director of mortgages at Nationwide, said the society is aiming to “speed up the homebuying process and reduce the stress and inconvenience” that come with paperwork. According to the lender, borrowers now have the option to go digital—if their solicitor or conveyancer supports QES. Finextra Research
Nationwide’s adoption of digital signatures is raising the bar for secure transactions, HM Land Registry deputy director Andy Roddy told The Negotiator. Roddy said he hopes more follow suit. Land Registry started accepting QES for this use after an August 2025 decision, according to statements from Nationwide and its partners.
Martin Bourke, managing director at Your Conveyancer, described the use of QES for mortgage completion as proof of what’s possible when firms join forces to update the process. He said it eliminates one of the final paper hurdles.
Edd Prosser-Jones, partnerships director at Veyco, pointed to QES as a tool that could help lenders by lowering the chance of fraud tied to the “legal charge,” the key document securing mortgages against properties. He added that it should also make things less uncertain for lenders. FStech
Still, everything could depend on just how fast law firms and conveyancers get on board with the new systems for QES. According to Today’s Conveyancer, only a single QES submission was logged in the three months after Land Registry opened the door for firms to use the digital signatures—information unearthed via a freedom of information request. The numbers highlight the possibility that adoption may not pick up speed anytime soon.
Digital deed signing has been around in the UK for a while, but adoption remains patchy. Back in 2019, HM Land Registry reported its “Sign your mortgage deed” platform hit the 1,000 mark for registered digital remortgage deeds, counting names like HSBC and Coventry Building Society among the participating lenders then. gov.uk
