What are the types of digital signatures?

How many projects of your company have been delayed just to wait for a signature? There are probably many. It is completely normal that the execution of a project depends on the signature of those responsible, we agree, what we do not understand is how these delays still exist, with tools such as digital signature software.

Well yes, there are digital signatures, online signatures, or whatever you want to call them and they can make your business management much more productive and efficient since it greatly facilitates the signing of documents. Do not be afraid of modernity, we invite you to analyze what this technology consists of.

Programs to create digital signatures ... how do they work?

One of the most frequent searches on the Internet is related to “How to create a digital signature?”, even more so after the pandemic, a season in which all companies digitized their processes and workflows. Adding a digital signature to a PDF has become a day-to-day necessity to speed up projects and processes dependent on third-party approval.

Ok, an electronic signature solution, as the name implies, allows a person to sign a digital document, validating its authenticity and affirming that they agree with what is established there. Instead of signing a physical paper, you are doing it digitally through a platform that must guarantee the security and privacy of the data that is being handled in this process.

In the industry, there are different platforms and e-signature software, which offer numerous functionalities, security measures, and authentication. When a person receives a request to sign a document, for example, they can access it with a password sent by the system itself. This high level of security that digital signature programs have makes this type of electronic signature completely legal and efficient.

Types of digital signatures

Remote digital signature

It is a signature that is done online, on a PDF or Word document, without the need to install any kind of program. It is a safe and agile mechanism, Validate ID explains: "To guarantee security, a double validation is always carried out via email and OTP (One Time Password) to the signer's smartphone with which they can ensure their identity," they emphasized. Any company can have confidence in this type of digital signature solution.

How to create a digital signature PDF?

Remote digital signature software works like this: the company generates the document on this platform and sends it to the person who must sign. This person then receives the document via email for review. Before executing the e-signature, the program should have a verification process to confirm the identity of the person who will sign the document. After this authentication, the recipient of the document performs the signature, which can then be verified by the company that sent it.

Biometric signature

To create biometric digital signatures, the physical presence of the signer is required, since it consists of stamping the signature on a device such as a tablet. Instead of signing on paper, he signs on the screen, archiving the document digitally and being able to access a copy by email.

Centralized e-signature

This type of electronic signature is more focused on the internal use of a company. The software that offers this signature modality gathers all the documents of the departments of a company and shows each user the files that are pending to be signed.

"The centralized digital signature guarantees the safe custody of the cryptographic keys in the HSM servers and, if required by the signer, qualified signatures can be generated through a qualified European trust service provider", Validate ID detailed about this type of firms. To access these documents, the user must have a special password, so the security of the platform is guaranteed.

Benefits of digital signatures solutions

Faster transactions and better customer service

Making your business or company transactions quick and easy is vital in the fast-paced world we live in today. Having the digital signatures option enabled allows your customers to sign and send documents electronically, such as email, avoiding various cumbersome and time-consuming processes. This shows that you allow fast transactions and that you also have respect for their time.

Decrease the number of errors with e-signatures

When we sign a contract, it can happen that we make a mistake by signing in the wrong place or we make a spelling mistake when doing it, which leads us to repeat the process again, take more time to do it, and waste paper unnecessarily. With digital signatures softwares, we can avoid these mistakes. Every step in the process is verified and in the end, you look more professional in the eyes of your client.

Security

Disputes over a transaction can be complicated when using a paper-based system. But with a digital signature, you can easily and thoroughly audit your journey. You can review every step in the formation of a transaction: who owned each stage when it happened, and what it was about, even if the deal was done months ago.

Which industries benefit most from digital signatures solutions?

Financial Industry

In the world of finance and banking, there is a lot of paperwork that customers have to go through before they can accomplish any transaction, having digital signature software can eliminate this process and make everything faster and easier for users and for the finance company. Banks have to deal with confidential information from their customers, so the security offered by digital signatures is vital in this area.

Sales

The sales process involves many signatures: from the moment you pay for something to when you sign for a product warranty. Having a system of digital signatures shortens all this, allowing all these processes to be validated with a single signature and saving paper costs. In addition, with a correct CRM you can track the transactions you make with your customers.

Legal Department

Signatures are the most important part of any legal document, a single typing error or a signature in the wrong place can lead to millionaire losses and stop counting. For this reason, the legal sector must adopt digital signatures in order to avoid errors through its verification systems.

As we have just seen, there are different types of digital signatures that you can implement in your company to streamline the workflow and optimize the management of procedures. At Rootstack, we handle more than 50 technologies that can help you in managing your documents, processes, and signatures. Contact us!

We recommend you on video:

Other articles related to this topic:

Our digital signature solutions

Webinar on digital signatures