Are electronic signatures valid?
So, you’ve got a document you need signed by two separate parties. These parties could be opposite sides of the country or even the world!
What do you do?
Do you send it in the post to one party, wait for them to sign it and return it to you to send on to the other, where you then have to wait for them to sign and return it again, hoping that it doesn’t get lost somewhere along the way? Frankly, that sounds like a ridiculous, antiquated way of doing business.
Do you send the document by email to one party, to print, sign, scan and send it back, then repeat the process with the second party? Better, but still, imagine all that wasted paper printing documents that will end up in the bin. What if the party doesn’t have a printer or scanner? Again, not an ideal situation.
The perfect way would be to send an electronic copy of the document to all relevant parties. They can then either draw their signature with their mouse or finger on a smartphone, or even just type it in. All parties instantly receive a copy of the signed document and everyone’s happy, having completed a process that could have taken days, in just a few seconds.
But is this legally binding? Visit DPS Software’s blog to find out.
