E-signature has become an essential part of banking and finance. The emergence of e-signatures has made transactions easier. Digitalization is the new key to success, and e-signatures have helped companies boost their performance while saving money. E-signatures allow businesses to save time, effort, and cost while catching up with the changing trends in technology.
Let us now see how e-signatures are revolutionizing the banking and financial sectors by taking into account some of their best features:
1. Digitalization
The banking and financial sectors have used e-signatures for a few years, but only in small ways. Many banks are still using paper-based contracts to conduct their business. However, digitalization is the new key to success. It’s the new way to make transactions, communicate with clients, do business, and get things done.
As a result, e-signature usage is expanding fast. Its growth is phenomenal as e-signature transactions worldwide rose from 89 million to 754 million in just five years. In addition to these numbers, it further indicates that by 2023, the e-signature service industry will reach $9,073.1 million.
E-signing is an automated process that allows you to digitally sign documents with the click of a button without having to print anything out or fax it into your company’s office. It eliminates all those extra steps from your workflow to move on with your day more efficiently and effectively than ever before.
2. Time and Cost Saving
When you sign a document, it is an accepted practice that you need to sign it in the presence of a witness. This way, there is no dispute as to who signed the document and when they signed it. But what if a transaction never happens? What if only one party signs and waits for another party who never signs? With e-signatures, this issue is solved because all parties can sign electronically simultaneously. Once it’s been signed by all parties involved in the transaction, no further action needs to be taken before presenting it for execution.
Also, with traditional paper-based signatures, many steps are required, which involve manual intervention on the part of employees. These include scanning documents into digital format followed by OCR conversion to convert text into usable data. It is done before finally sending out emails containing PDF attachments that have been signed manually using stapling machines or other means.
These actions present several security concerns, such as loss or theft during transit. It also creates additional costs due to increased workloads required at various stages and hardware purchases. Finally, it increases operational costs, which could be avoided by using electronic signatures instead.
3. Faster Transaction Speed
In today’s digital world, an e-signature service is essential to the banking and financial sectors. Using these services, you can instantly sign documents and contracts without wasting time with manual signatures.
E-signatures are a lot faster than traditional signatures. If you look at the average speed at which people create their signature for the first time in a manual form, it is about 10 seconds per signature. If we compare this with electronic signing, where users must click a button, it will generate their signature immediately. Depending on your computer’s processing power, you could do it within 1 second or less.
3. Verification Options
On the other hand, e-signatures can be more secure than traditional paper signatures. For example, with electronic data authentication (EDA), digital certificates confirm that a particular user is indeed who they claim to be. As a result, it allows banks and financial institutions to verify identity without needing physical identification documents like driver’s licenses and passports. It is more beneficial than traditional manual signing, which often takes more time and money.
With e-signatures, there’s also no need for multiple signatures from different people. They allow you to add as many parties as needed with just one click. All parties can be added, whether it’s your bank, an insurance company, or an attorney representing yourself in a legal case against someone else. It makes transactions much faster than traditional methods when everything is done electronically. In addition, there is no need to have everyone sign off on each document separately.
4. Customizable
You can also customize the signature. For example, you can choose your signature’s font, size, and color. Additionally, you have the option to add a logo to your signature. It is an excellent way to make your e-signature more attractive and professional.
There are some other things that you can do with an e-signature as well:
- Choose a background color for your digital signature.
- Customize an image into a digital seal that uses part of an existing picture or logo. It helps to create a particular pattern when printed on paper documents requiring signatures from both parties involved.
- Add video clips directly into these same documents, so there will be no doubt about who signed off on them too.
5. Message to Receiver Automatically
E-signature is a digital signature that provides the same legal binding as traditional signatures. As a result, it helps you send documents electronically, safely, and conveniently. E-signatures are legally binding, meaning they have the same legal weight as physical signatures. As a result, they’re used in many sectors where fast and secure document communication is necessary. These include banking, insurance, healthcare, and government services, to name a few examples.
Individuals and corporations can use e-signature services altogether. There’s no restriction on who uses them or how often they’re used daily. The process for e-signing varies according to whether you’ve got an account with your institution or not. Regardless, there are many different ways for e-signing, which makes it more accessible.
6. Secure, Convenient, And Reliable
The use of e-signatures is beneficial for companies, as well as customers.
- E-signatures are more secure than paper signatures. If someone steals the documents with their signatures will protect your company from fraud and theft.
- E-signatures are more convenient than paper signatures. You can use them anywhere at any time. You do not need to meet up with someone to sign something or wait for someone else’s response before proceeding with other activities. It takes time and wastes money on gas if you have to go somewhere physically to deliver instead of doing it online.
- E-signatures are reliable. You cannot alter them after being digitally signed by both parties involved in a transaction. So there won’t be any discrepancies between what was agreed upon initially versus what was executed later.
7. It Is an Efficient Way for Businesses to Operate
E-signatures are an excellent way for companies to make their business operations more efficient and streamlined while offering their customers the same benefits. It’s easier than ever before for people to get everything done online, and there are multiple options for verification as well. With e-signatures, you get an abundance of verification opportunities, making it easy for users without technical knowledge or skills.
