New technologies have revolutionized all areas of business. Companies are investing significant amounts of money and energy into digitalizing their operations and the education and training of their employees.
However, it's about more than innovative production and service processes or the implementation of new technologies in information infrastructure and marketing automation. Fortunately, many new solutions are also entering the realm of unpopular paperwork.
Here are answers to the ten most common questions that those seriously considering transitioning from traditional to electronic document preparation and signing might face.
Check them out and try one of the reputable remote electronic signature services for free.
1. What is an electronic signature?
‘Electronic signature’ means data in electronic form which is attached to or logically associated with other data in electronic form and which is used by the signatory to sign (summarized according to the eIDAS Regulation).
The eIDAS Regulation (electronic IDentification, Authentication, and trust Services) recognizes three levels of e-signatures: electronic signature (does not require identity verification), advanced electronic signature (enables the verification of the signer's identity), and qualified electronic signature (uses a qualified digital certificate from a qualified trust service provider and a signature creation device).
2. How can I start using an e-signature?
Getting started with e-signatures is simple. Choose the desired electronic signing service, such as BetrSign®. You can try it for free, and if it meets your expectations after thirty days, you can select the plan that suits you best and the number of users.
Once you've ordered the service, you'll receive instructions for payment and activation via email. You'll then be sent a link to confirm your electronic identity (in our case, SETCCE eID), which you'll need to log into the portal and e-signing.
3. Why is e-signature a good solution for businesses?
Businesses often need to prepare countless documents, send them for signing, and then wait for them to be signed. The traditional or "analog" handling of documents - printing and scanning, sending them by mail, or personally delivering them to signers - takes plenty of time (and money).
Can you imagine adding environmental responsibility to your company's mission? Did you know that producing 16 reams of office paper requires cutting down one whole tree?
E-signature services thus help businesses save time, money, and space to store documents. They provide users with an excellent user experience, security, and legal compliance.
BetrSign also allows you to customize your messages, such as signature requests, with your company's corporate logo and colors. This way, recipients will always know they are doing business with your company.
4. Is e-signing secure?
Since users often send documents with sensitive content for signing, e-signature services incorporate specific security mechanisms to ensure that your documents reach the right person, such as two-factor authentication (username/password and one-time password).
BetrSign provides additional login options, such as using a personal qualified digital certificate on a secure local medium (smart card or token) or in the cloud, as well as with the new electronic identity card.
BetrSign takes security and privacy seriously, administering an information security management system in accordance with ISO/IEC 27001:2013 and ISO/IEC 27018:2019 standards. It also complies with all the requirements of the eIDAS Regulation, implementing acts of the European Parliament and the Council of the EU, and specific ETSI standards for electronic transactions. Therefore, e-signing with BetrSign is secure.
5. Are e-signatures legally binding?
An e-signature in a controlled environment holds the same legal validity as a handwritten signature on a traditional paper document. A secure audit trail is stored behind the electronic signature, capturing the entire history of the signing process and the person's association with the e-signature.
The e-signing service BetrSign is performed in accordance with the strictest requirements of European regulations eIDAS and GDPR, as well as national regulations and sector-specific legislation.
6. Can customers electronically sign our documents?
That is actually the primary purpose of all e-signature services, their mission. Your customers can sign documents using the BetrSign service for free. All they need is to create a SETCCE eID following the link they receive via email, and then they can easily log in and sign your document.
Your customers do not need any special devices or additional software for document signing. Moreover, they can sign your documents whenever it suits them best.
And this applies both domestically and internationally - BetrSign is an internationally recognized trusted service by subscribers and end-users. It is available in multiple languages and is used by over 900,000 users in more than 15 countries.
7. Is an e-signature service easy to use?
Using an e-signature service for document preparation and signing is pretty simple, and the process comprises four steps:
1. log into the portal, upload the document, and add fillable fields if needed.
2. Next, select signers and assign them log in and signing methods.
3. Then place signature fields and
4. send the document to the signatories.
Throughout the process, you'll always know the document's signing status and who still has to sign. In the end, you will receive the signed document, along with all the signatures, conveniently via email.
8. How does an advanced electronic signature, certified with a (qualified) electronic signature certificate, work?
An advanced electronic signature, verified with a (qualified) electronic signature certificate, operates with the help of the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) infrastructure, which generates private and public keys for secure signature management. The private key is a confidential piece of information known only to the signer, while the public key is accessible to everyone verifying the e-signature's authenticity.
When signers electronically sign a document, they leave a unique "fingerprint," a cryptographic hash value. The cryptographic algorithm encrypts this value using the sender's private key, adds it to the document, and sends it to the recipient, who then decrypts the received hash value using the sender's public key and generates a hash value directly from the document using the same cryptographic algorithm. Both values are compared to confirm the signature's authenticity and the absence of tampering with the document.
The Public Key Infrastructure also ensures that public keys are part of digital certificates and that signers or certificate holders undergo appropriate (personal) verification. This way, we can be confident that a public key (and its private pair) belongs to a specific individual.
9. Is an e-signature visually similar to a handwritten signature?
There are several types of e-signature, ranging from simply clicking on a signature field in a document on a desktop computer or mobile device to physically signing with a stylus on a signature pad. The last option, in fact, closely resembles a handwritten signature.
10. Which documents can be signed electronically?
You can electronically sign almost all the documents that you would typically sign manually, such as contracts, board resolutions, insurance policies, bank loan agreements, logistics documentation, medical records, lease agreements, HR documentation, purchase orders, delivery notes, project reports, technical documentation, non-disclosure agreements, handover protocols, and more.
