Skip to content
English - United Kingdom
  • There are no suggestions because the search field is empty.

How do I verify landlords in Calmony?

The Calmony Verify process ensures your agency complies with anti-money laundering regulations by verifying all payees before making payments through your Griffin Bank client account—follow our step-by-step guide or watch the video walkthrough.

Due to anti-money laundering regulations (see the UK government's Financial Sanctions guidance for letting agents), banks offering client accounts must verify who they hold funds for. From May 2025, all banks will be required to implement these checks, but Calmony users are already compliant. This guide explains how to complete the Calmony Verify process for your landlords and payees.

Landlord verification in Calmony is a crucial step in ensuring compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) and Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) regulations. The verification process helps confirm the identity and details of landlords before processing payments.

For detailed information you can share with your payees about the verification process, please see our Guide to Completing Your Calmony Verification for Payees.

Video Walkthrough

Watch our comprehensive video guides that demonstrate the complete verification workflow:

Before Starting Verification

Adding Company Context to Names

When adding payees who represent companies (such as company directors being verified as individuals), you can include company information in a way that won't affect verification. This helps you identify the payee's role whilst maintaining accurate legal names for verification purposes.

For example, if verifying a director named "John Smith" for "ABC Properties Ltd", you might enter their name as:

  • First name: John
  • Surname: Smith [ABC Properties Ltd]

The company name in brackets provides context without interfering with the verification process.

Getting Started

To begin verifying a payee:

  1. Add your payee to the system with their full legal name (as it appears on ID) and email address
  2. Navigate to the payee's profile
  3. Click 'Begin Calmony Verify'
  4. The system will display any missing required details
  5. Click 'Email Details Form' to send the form to your payee

The payee will receive an email explaining why verification is needed and providing a link to submit their missing details. The link expires after 7 days.

Untitled.png

For Limited Company Landlords

We strongly recommend nominating a single director to be verified as an individual landlord rather than verifying the entire company. This significantly simplifies the process, costs less, and reduces verification time. Simply follow the individual landlord process below using the nominated director's details.

If you must verify the company itself, additional steps and documentation will be required for complex ownership structures.

The Verification Workflow

The verification process follows these steps:

  1. Initial Setup: Add payee with legal name and email
  2. Missing Details: System identifies required information
  3. Details Form: Payee completes form with personal information
  4. Automatic Processing: System processes submitted information
  5. ID Verification: If required, payee completes identity verification
  6. Review: Griffin Bank reviews the submission
  7. Completion: Payee is verified and ready for payments

What Information is Required?

Payees must provide:

  • Personal details exactly as they appear on ID
  • Residential address (where they live, not business addresses or rental properties)
  • Employment status and occupation
  • For property owners: average monthly rental income and number of properties managed by your agency (not total properties owned)
  • Proof of address document (utility bill, council tax letter, or bank statement dated within 3 months)
  • Tax reference numbers (if available)

After Submission

Once the payee submits their information:

  • The details are sent to Griffin Bank for review
  • Griffin Bank will send a Griffin Verify check link
  • The payee must complete this verification using valid ID (not expired)
  • Most verifications complete within a few working days

Manually Retrieving Verification Links

Whilst Calmony sends verification requests automatically, some landlords—especially elderly individuals or those who are not tech-savvy, or those without a camera or smartphone—may struggle with completing digital verification independently. You can manually retrieve and share verification links, or assist landlords in person.

Why might you need to do this?

The verification checks can be completed on any device, and it may be beneficial to:

  • Have landlords come into your office for assistance
  • Travel to their location to help them complete the process
  • Resend links to landlords who've lost the original email

How to find the verification links:

  1. Locate the landlord/payee you want to get the link for
  2. Click on their ID to access their record
  3. Navigate to the Notes section of the payee record
  4. Find the verification email log showing all communications sent to them
  5. Click on a note to view the full email content
  6. The links to any forms or ID checks will be displayed in the email

Important reminders:

  • It does not matter which device a landlord/payee uses for verification—theirs, yours, or the company's—as long as it belongs to them and is not a screenshot
  • The verification must be completed by the actual landlord/payee
  • Ensure the person completing the verification form is the same person who will complete the ID verification check
  • Links typically expire after 7 days

Making Payments to Verified Landlords

Once your landlord is verified and your account is active, you can make payments to them.

Video: How to Make a Payment

To make a payment:

  1. Navigate to the Payees section
  2. Click 'Actions' on the relevant payee
  3. Select 'Make Fast Payment'
  4. Enter:
    • Reference (max 18 alphanumeric characters)
    • Amount
    • Authenticator App Code (second code in your authenticator app)
  5. Click 'Make Fast Payment'

Payments are processed 24/7 and usually complete within 5 minutes.

Special Cases

For specific scenarios requiring additional verification steps, please refer to our dedicated article:

  • Overseas landlords or complex ownership: See our guide on Verifying Overseas and Complex Ownership Landlords

Important Notes

  • Verification must be completed by the actual payee
  • ID documents must be current and not expired
  • The person completing the details form must be the same person completing the ID check
  • Links expire after 7 days
  • For verification queries, contact support@calmony.co