Why every serious agent should FICA their investors before the first call

The Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA) treats estate agents as accountable institutions. That means know-your-client obligations begin at the establishment of a business relationship — not at the point of offer, and not at the point of transfer.

In practice, for an investor-facing agent, this means collecting proof of identity, proof of address, and — where relevant — proof of funds and beneficial ownership before you share sensitive listing information. Plotline handles a baseline verification on the platform, but the agent is the accountable party on the actual transaction.

The upside is significant: fully FICA'd investors close faster, banks release funds faster, and the risk of a deal falling over on a compliance technicality drops to near zero. Treat FICA as sales infrastructure, not admin.