Breaking Down: The pen, the paper and the e-signature.
Understanding the need for e-signatures in the digital age
The first ever medium on which an insignia or a signature was ever sketched was the rock walls of prehistoric caves. Fast forward to the 21st century and we’ve quickly moved from plain old paper to digital signatures and biometric devices
Technology has not just grown, but transformed from what we had perceived and created in the last century, to something that now leads the way for Man’s innovations. AI and Machine learning have paved the way for self-sufficient, near sentient machines and devices.
This is the era of the Digital, and to keep our businesses abreast with the changing times, we have to learn to embrace the digital tech of now and the future.
Sign beneath the fine print, digitally.
The basics
Digital signatures or e-signatures are not exactly a novel idea, and have been around for quite some time. But the need for e-signatures have heightened in the last few years more than ever. With mobile and hand-held devices in nearly everyone’s hand, it’s become increasingly important to use quick, easy, online ways of saying “I agree”.
To demand the physical presence of any individual in these modern times is near foolishness. Especially since the onset of the 2020 pandemic, we have learned the world can carry on with just a digital presence.
Businesses across the world have learned to trade, operate and flourish with just an online presence. Even onboarding new clients, vendors or employees can now be done online. And none of the stakeholders need to be physically present to sign across the dotted line.
The Whys and the Wherefores
Customer experience is the biggest driver here. Businesses want to simplify the process of signatures and verification, so stakeholders can focus on the experience of the transaction more than the nuances.
The other factor to consider is back-office efficiency – how quickly and efficiently can we process the paperwork for our customers. Quicker automated back-end processes mean reduced costs and better bottom-lines.
There is also the aspect of security: incidents of forgery and fraud have been consistent over the years with pen on paper, especially when we are looking at multiple signatories. Be it fine print being edited between signatures, or signatures being forged, none of that is going to be existent with online signatures. With an extensive audit trail mechanism and document locking procedures, it becomes near impossible to manipulate online documents and e-signatures.
The Whatnots
With digitalization, e-signatures can pretty much be anything you want them to be: from a squiggle on a touchpad to an encrypted QR code which says it’s you, anything can be used across platforms, as long as the security protocols and the signature workflows are spotless.
Combining e-signatures with biometric verification can add to the security and might be quite the necessity for large financial transactions, but might be a touchy subject, considering customer experience and process efficiency.
The Bottom Line
We simply need to adopt an e-signature workflow and protocol that will prove to be both efficient and secure for our customers and stakeholders. There is no work around on this.
But before you sign on the dotted line, be sure you read through the fine print.
There are umpteen options in the market when it comes to e-sign softwares and services, but be sure to invest in something as robust and trustworthy and efficient as ArcSign to run your business, completely paperless.
Archarina’s ArcSign is a robust solution for all your e-signing needs and is part of the ArcSuite, a complete set of products that will help you streamline your business processes for the digital era.
So what are you waiting for? The dotted line?
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