In December 2003, Law 59/2003 on electronic signatures was published in the Official State Gazette (BOE), a text that would be a precedent for the direction that document certification and contracting processes would take. Almost 15 years after the publication of the law, the digital transformation is the subject of continuous discussion in companies; the mobile banking has ceased to be an option to be an obligation for financial institutions; and a large number of our personal purchases are made through Amazon.
In a society in which access to and use of new technologies is becoming increasingly important, it is becoming necessary for companies and public administrations to streamline their processes through digital tools. One of them is the electronic signature, increasingly important with the arrival of the new generations who, like the Millennials, prefer not to have to move from their work and leisure spaces to perform different tasks that they can do from their smartphones. They check their expenses via mobile, have a personal trainer via app, and even make use of telemedicine when their health condition does not require them to travel to a hospital.
In the new environment of virtual offices and electronic administration, new ways of certifying the legal validity of the thousands of contracts that are signed every day in our country are imposed. In this context, the electronic signature becomes an indispensable tool in the personal, work and business spheres of each of us. In addition, it offers great advantages to companies and users. The following are the most important and those from which organizations could benefit directly:
- Security. The electronic signature uses a more secure technology than the handwritten signature, so that impersonating the signer’s identity is a much more complex process. It should be noted that there are different types of signature: simple, advanced and qualified. MailTecK & Customer Comms offers eSignLive’s advanced electronic signature, with a higher level of legal security than a simple signature by ensuring the verification of the identity and integrity of the signed data, which is legal evidence admissible as proof in court. In addition, it is capable of providing a visual audit trail, allowing the entire process to be replayed screen by screen.
- Higher conversion rate. The client will not depend on his work schedule to be able to go to an office to sign a policy. You will be able to formalize your contract with the insurer or the bank whenever and wherever you want. In addition, the electronic signature option will be available on your computer, tablet or smartphone.
The advantage is not only for the user or signatory, but also for the company issuing the contract, as it will achieve a higher rate of return in the management of its contracting processes. The greater the convenience, usability and availability of the contract, the faster the contract will be formalized. - More productive companies. With digitization, we avoid the displacement and transfer of documents and, therefore, of personnel. The electronic signature reduces the execution time of manual processes and the possible errors or loss of documents. The fewer the number of people involved in the process of sending documentation for signature, the fewer the number of possible incidents. This makes the company more productive and secure.
- Cost reduction. Savings are presented as one of the main advantages in the short term. How much does it cost my company to send policies to its customers by mail? Without having the figures on the table, we can deduce that much more than sending contracts by e-mail. We save the cost of mailing and all the paper consumption. Likewise, we will save document storage space. To this we must add that the reduction of paper favors and contributes to the care of the environment.
- Quick access to information. The administrative staff of companies spends a great deal of time storing, managing and searching for invoices and contracts. If they are not properly organized, these times will increase to the point of wasting a considerable amount of time and, therefore, money for the company. With electronic signatures and an automated and simplified document management process, all information will be more accessible and document search times will improve considerably.
It is common for desks to become cluttered with mountains of paperwork, which could result in sensitive information being lost or stolen. Digital archiving of documentation will reduce information leakage if the company has a good security system in its IT equipment and a contingency plan for possible security breaches.
If after knowing these advantages you are looking for a partner to collaborate with in order to manage the signing of your company’s contracts, remember that your supplier should be able to offer you at least:
- Compliance with the eIDAS regulation, which regulates electronic signatures at the European level.
- Must be a certified trusted service provider.
- Possibility of signing documents through the use of digital certificate and electronic signature.
- Offering different authentication and identity verification options.
- Collection of evidence to ensure traceability of signature processes.
- Guarantee of document integrity and inviolability.