As electronic signatures become the norm for formalising written agreements, it’s natural to have questions about moving away from signing paper documents and going digital. The convenience of signing this way is obvious, but is e-sign secure? Is it legal? And how does e-sign work?
What is e-signing? Signing a document electronically is very easy: it can be as simple as adding your personal scribble to the bottom of a digital agreement and then clicking a “Sign” button.
But what you get is much more than meets the eye, and with the right e-sign service, e-signing can actually be safer and more reliable than pen and paper signatures.
For any agreement – whether on paper or in electronic format – to be legally binding, three key elements must be in place:
Want to know more? Hear a legal scholar explain clearly and simply in these short videos.
So how does Scrive accomplish these three elements? Let’s look at a simple signing process using the Scrive eSign service. You can try it yourself for free with a 30-day trial.
Reduced administration time and costs, fewer manual tasks (e.g., printing, scanning, emailing), higher signing conversion rates, increased security, simplified document storage and access, shorter lead times to get an agreement signed, convenience and perceived value for customers and others who sign your documents, increased business opportunity and simplified compliance are just a few of the benefits.
Only the recipient should have access to their email account, but there are stronger identity methods, such as the many digital identity services Scrive offers within the eSign portal.
When a person e-signs a document to enter into an agreement, that’s an electronic signature. A digital signature is the digital seal that is created to protect the document’s integrity after it is signed. Learn more.
With electronic documents, the concepts of “original” and “copies” are no longer relevant. Every “copy” of an electronically-signed document is the “original” and has the same legal validity as any other.
Organisations of all sizes are moving from signing on paper to e-signing because, even for the smallest businesses, the immediate cost savings alone generally far outweigh the cost of an e-signing service. See Scrive’s pricing plans.
Read the case study about how Scrive helped a small family business in Stockholm.
In general, none whatsoever. Scrive eSign’s intuitive user interface makes it easy to prepare and send documents for signing with a few clicks. Getting started is a simple matter of getting a subscription and logging into the signing portal.
No. E-signing is free for the signing party, and they don’t need to log in.
Yes, as long as your e-sign provider has built the necessary security safeguards into their service. Visit the Scrive Trust Centre to learn how Scrive keeps you secure and compliant.
Basic Electronic Signature (or just ES), Advanced Electronic Signature (AES) and Qualified Electronic Signature (QES). Read more for details on each.
Your digital journey may be complex, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. Scrive’s extensive expertise and experience, together with our culture of continuous innovation and customer focus, are the keys to our growing success. Read more here