Estate agents, licensed conveyancers, solicitors and mortgage brokers in London, Gloucestershire and Yorkshire will be the first to trial the government’s new digital identity trust scheme, MyIdentity.

Offices in eleven areas – Battersea, Chiswick, Clapham, Putney, Wimbledon, Richmond, Kew, Cheltenham, Gloucester, Harrogate and York – are taking part in the year-long pilot scheme that launches this month, with more set to be added next year.

MyIdentity will become the central hub for home buyers and sellers who would no longer be repeatedly asked to provide their identity details throughout the sale process.

The aim is for everyone in the sector to recognise MyIdentity as an acceptable source of identity verification, using one set of government-backed standards. It would also be a better way of mitigating the risk of property and mortgage fraud.

Housing Minister Christopher Pincher said: “It is good to see the progress being made on rolling out this scheme. We know that buyers and sellers are confused and frustrated by the current process where they have their identity checked multiple times. A single check which can be relied upon by multiple parties will help us to deliver a modernised and better home buying experience.”

It is hoped Etive Limited, the technology company delivering the scheme, will be able to run real live customers and transactions through the new scheme from October.