Admittedly, much European focus recently has been on Brexit; some substantial regulations and developments from within the European Union have slipped under the radar. One such regulation that you might never have come across is eIDAS, writes Icon UK Limited. On July 1, 2016, the provisions applicable to trust services under the eIDAS Regulation (Regulation (EU) N°910/2014) came into effect across the 28 Member States. This regulation applies within the UK and is already having a significant positive impact on Icon UK’s clients’ operations, as well as those of the wider business community, with the regulation paving the way for the use of digital identification services, such as eSignature solutions, that have the potential to transform business processes.
eIDAS presents opportunities for businesses to operate digital workflows across Europe with a solid legal basis for the use of electronic means of identification and verification, replacing a patchwork of varying laws from across the continent. eIDAS will allow businesses to work without the uncertainty of whether the process they’re using have a legal standing or provide adequate protection from risk, thus providing them the opportunity to make the most of the ‘digital single market.
eSignatures have had a legal standing since the introduction of the EU’s eSignature Directive 1999; before then, only paper and ink signatures were legally admissible. eIDAS takes eSignatures a step further than the previous directive, blending a range of ‘Trust Services’ with eSignature solutions to provide robust means of electronically identifying and verifying authorisations and agreements.
This change in regulation is designed to speed the uptake of digital identification technologies, such as biometric signature verification, across EU member states in order to help businesses take advantage of the efficiencies of time and cost that can be generated by such technology, as well as the significant reduction in risk from fraud and misrepresentation and the enhancement of data protection and identity verification.
An eSignature into your business now means that you will benefit from the capabilities of such a solution – with immediate benefits for your organisation – and you can take advantage of the provisions of these new regulations which give you the same legal protection for electronically signed documents as is afforded to paper and ink-signed documents.
Suddenly, the option to use eSignatures – including digital signatures, certificates and even deploying biometric signature verification – is a credible one for businesses and the opportunities are wide-ranging. Let’s take a look at some.
Large financial or property transactions can pose a significant prize for career fraudsters. Using biometric eSignature verification can enable vendors to be certain of the identity of the person they are dealing with to prevent identity fraud at a distance, or misrepresentation when face-to-face. The unique characteristics of a signature can be analysed against pre-enrolled profiles to give a biometric assurance of identity, putting your security measures at odds with the fraudsters – and you win.
Multiple signatories in multiple locations, all remote from each other, may be required to endorse contract or other legal documentation. Traditionally, this would mean the document being posted around the country (or world!) to collect original signatures. An eSignature solution now can allow this inefficiency to be eradicated and documents sent and signed within minutes, not weeks.
Use eSignatures to allow field sales representatives to get customer signatures on orders and contracts quickly using mobile devices or replace posted and ‘print-sign-scan’’ papers with electronically signed documents that speed up processes and integrate directly into your document management workflows. Save time and money whilst reducing your paper burden.
Of course, with the uncertainty surrounding when we might leave the EU following the June referendum, it’s certainly wise to question how long an organisation can take advantage of these regulations. Well, there is no guarantee, but it is likely that on exit from the EU, the provisions of the regulation would have some continuity in British law. There are some existing protections in British law already (for some light reading, take a look at the Electronic Communications Act 2000, and the Electronic Signatures Regulations 2002 (SI 2002 No. 318)) so any investment in eSignature infrastructure and processes would not be lost. As eSignature technology and adoption grows, it is likely that Parliament will produce legislation which would bring parity with the provision of eIDAS and other laws from around the world.
For more about Icon UK visit www.icon-uk.net.
