Legado, based in Edinburgh, launched today following the significant financial backing from Prudential and FNZ.

The new platform, which is available either as a direct-to-consumer product, or can be co-branded by enterprises and professional advisors, will help organisations with GDPR compliance whilst offering a valuable customer-focussed service.

It says that individuals can use the online platform throughout their life to securely and easily store and then share their most important documents and information- from wills and policies to pin codes and treasured family recipes.

Enterprises can harness the customer owned digital documentation platform, enabling organisations to create digital customer journeys which would previously be fulfilled using paper, helping them to go paperless and deliver key documentation directly into customer-owned digital vaults.

The launch of the direct-to-consumer service follows a £50,000 grant from Innovate UK, the UK government’s innovation agency. The grant has allowed Legado to offer this version of the service for free for an extended period. Thereafter, users will be able to subscribe to the platform for a nominal monthly or annual fee.

All information stored within Legado is protected by “bank-grade” security, one of the highest levels of encryption, with users required to follow a two-factor authentication process to gain entry to their digital vault.

Josif Grace, CEO and founder of Legado, said: “Life organisation and Legacy planning is something that can fill many with dread. While it is understandably a sensitive subject and strenuous task, it’s important that services like ours make it as easy as possible to prepare for life’s unexpected events. It’s important to highlight how it is never too early to think about the future and to keep plans updated throughout your life.

“We live in a digital world, however when it comes to forward planning, the industry still relies on paper, physical documents, unsecure emails and other file hosting services. Legado removes that aspect and provides one simple, highly secure platform which a consumer has access to and can manage throughout their lives. Not only does this provide the user with a central and secure space where they can store an abundance of documents, but they also have complete control over who is able to access specific information. Enterprises will also be able to benefit as they are granted unique access to their client’s affairs which can better shape the counsel and advice they provide.”