10 Frequently Asked Questions about E-Signatures – DrySign by Exela

Today, e-signatures are fast taking the role of technology that can be adopted as the first step towards complete digitization, no matter the nature of your organization. Most people experience electronic signatures, either signing with an Apple pen on an iPad or pasting an image of their signature on documents. E-signatures have enabled financial institutions, start-ups, manufacturing plants, and other large organizations to maintain critical business continuity by giving consumers digital access to essential services like bank account openings, vehicle financing, loans, employee agreements, vendor contracts, etc.

As e-signature adoption increases, organizations need to educate employees and customers about the legal and secure processes e-signature technology provides for signing documents online. While the rule of traditional handwritten signatures slowly but steadily comes to an end, there are still concerns that plague consumers about the legality and validity of e-signature technology. Since looking for answers on the internet is a sure way of going down rabbit holes of the World Wide Web mysteries, we have compiled a shortlist of 10 Frequently Asked Questions about the use of e-signatures.

FAQ #1: What is the difference between electronic signatures and digital signatures?

FAQ #2: Are e-signatures safe?

FAQ #3: Are e-signatures legal?

FAQ #4: Are there documents that cannot be signed digitally?

FAQ #5: What type of documents can be signed using e-signatures?

FAQ #6: Does the user at the other end need to have the software too?

FAQ #7: Do I need special hardware or software to use e-signatures?

FAQ #8: Is electronic signature technology right for a business?

FAQ #9: How to choose the right electronic signature solution for my business?

FAQ #10: Do e-signatures remove the human touch element?

FAQ #1: What is the difference between electronic signatures and digital signatures?

Electronic or e-signature and digital signature are often used interchangeably, but they do not mean the same thing. An electronic signature is a simple way of obtaining consent on electronic documents or forms. E-signatures are defined as an "electronic sound, symbol, or process attached to, or associated with, a contract or other record and adopted by a person with the intent to sign a record." On the other hand, digital signatures refer to the encryption and decryption technology on which an electronic signature solution is built. A digital signature alone is not a type of electronic signature. Used alone, it cannot capture a person's intent to sign a document or be legally bound to an agreement or contract.

Bottom Line: When looking for a suitable e-signature solution to manage your signing processes, ensure that, like DrySign, it is built on digital signature technology to guarantee the integrity of the document and underlying signatures.

FAQ #2: Are e-signatures safe?

Most e-signature solutions are secure. When backed by digital signature technology that encrypts and protects your online paperwork through a slew of systems like audit trails, PKI technology, etc., document processes on such e-signature solutions are 100% encrypted and sealed against tampering or forgery. They are based on asymmetric cryptography, generated through a Public key algorithm with two unique keys. A private key that is unique to a signatory and a public key is available to everyone for decrypting the online signature. Thus, if a user wants to sign a document, he uses his unique and non-transferable private key, to which no one else has access.

Bottom Line: Before zeroing in on an e-signature solution for your business, ensure that the compliance and certifications of the software are updated and current to track and protect your document.

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