An Introduction to the World of E-Signatures

Digital Currency, digital process, digital marketing… no matter which way we look at it, 21st century is the digital age for this millennial. And with each passing year, it is gaining more momentum in terms of its usage, adaption and advantages.

The digital era has lead us to a faster, progressive and growing use of technology in our personal and professional lives. The same effect can be seen in the way people enter into an agreement and contract.

E-contracts or Electronic contracts are a digital version of traditional paper contracts. They shift the medium of contract from pen and paper to digital or online means. But these are only legal document templates online until they are signed by two or more involved parties. Hence, to make the process of digital contracting fully possible and legally binding, these are signed electronically as well.

To make a contract valid and binding for contracting parties, it is important to have some ‘mark’ that signifies the consent or approval by the parties. As long as this mark is proved to represent a party and show that no significant changes were done after this, the contract will be legally valid. The form of this ‘mark’ may not be that important.

Definition of E-Signatures

E-Signatures are defined differently by various country laws. However, the main intent of most is to use the technological upgradation in the contracting system.

The Indian law had accepted E-signatures as legally valid for more than 18 years now. The Information Technology Act introduced in 2000 recognised and gave electronic signatures the same legal status as hand-written signatures.

This was in accordance with the aim of infusing digitalization and ease of doing business in India. This resulted in an increased use of E-Signatures by individuals, professionals and businesses alike.

According to a report by KPMG and Google named “Impact of Digitisation on SMBs in India”, the Digital SMBs grow at twice the profit rate as its offline counterparts.

Similarly, US has defined E-Signatures in its U.S. legislation, as an electronic sound, symbol or process that is attached to or logically associated with a record and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record.”

Benefits of Switching to Electronic Signature

With the evolving world of contracting, there are numerous benefits of switching to the electronic form of signatures. Some of these benefits are:

Less Time

eSignatures take lesser time than a handwritten contract. More time is consumed in meeting personally for signing a document than just sending and signing it over digital mediums like Feelium E-contracts.

Reduced Cost

For a physical signature, numerous material cost of pen, ink, paper, cartridge, etc. are involved. However, the electronic signatures eliminate such expenses and are less costly.

Faster Contracting

Contracting requires a lot of time to conclude or finalize. This is because of the back-and-forth discussions and changes that are required. Feelium E-contract offers a One-Stop Digital platform for facilitating an easier and faster way of contracting and signing legal documents. With this platform, you can create, share, discuss and sign a legal contract.

E-signatures have been accepted as a legally valid form of signing a legal document in India. It offers multiple benefits like lower costs, less time taken and a faster process of contracting. eSignatures and E-contracts in general will help in making the whole process faster and more secure for individuals and businesses alike.