Digital contract signing helps businesses improve productivity, reduce costs, and gain a competitive advantage. Gone are the days when your employees and customers had to print, sign, scan, and mail the signed contracts. Digital signatures make it possible to sign all types of business agreements in a matter of minutes. Plus, they are far more secure than handwritten and simple electronic signatures.
What is digital contract signing?
Digital contract signing is the process of signing contracts digitally using your electronic ID. Digitally signed contracts are legally binding and must be honored.
What are the benefits of digital contract signing?
Digital contract signing has a range of advantages for both businesses and their stakeholders. With the help of a digital signing solution, organizations can:
Provide a hassle-free signing experience
Before digital signatures, if you needed to get a contract signed, you only had two options: meet the signers in person, or have them print, sign, and scan the contract and send it back to you via email or post. Both these options took precious time away from your stakeholders and were honestly a bit of a hassle.
Digital signatures allow organizations to take the hassle out of contract signing and provide more convenient experiences to their customers and business partners. That’s because digital signing software enables signers to sign contracts directly on a computer, phone, or tablet using their electronic ID.
Work more efficiently
Digital signing software can automate most of the signing process — from routing contracts to multiple signers in a particular order to sending reminder emails at regular intervals.
By taking these tasks off your employees’ plates, digital signing tools enable your staff to focus on high-value activities that require interpersonal skills and critical thinking. This, in turn, improves efficiency throughout the entire organization.
Ensure a high level of security and compliance
In today’s world, data is invaluable. Unfortunately, this means that malicious third parties will often try to get their hands on it and misuse it for personal gain.
Companies have a huge responsibility to protect the data they’ve been entrusted with by their customers, employees, and other stakeholders. Digital signature providers like Penneo employ encryption, access control, and other security controls to ensure that the data stored in their platforms is protected from unauthorized access. Furthermore, they comply with relevant regulations such as the eIDAS regulation and the GDPR.
You have to be careful though since there are also many signature providers that are not compliant with relevant regulations, nor do they offer a high level of data protection. Therefore, companies should do extensive research before choosing a provider and ensure that they are ISAE 3000 certified.
What types of contracts can be signed digitally?
Examples of agreements that can be signed digitally include real estate contracts, sales contracts, employment contracts, partnership agreements, loan agreements, and confidentiality agreements.
Digital contract signing FAQs
Is it legal to sign contracts digitally?
Yes, it is! Under the eIDAS regulation, digitally signed contracts are legally binding.
Is it safe to sign contracts digitally with Penneo?
Yes, signing contracts with Penneo is safe. Everything we do — from our IT environment to our products — follows the highest safety standards and industry best practices. Digital signatures created with Penneo meet the security requirements set out by the EU eIDAS regulation and the US e-Sign and UETA Act. Read more in our Trust Center.
How can I make sure that the right person signs the contract?
When sending a contract for signature via Penneo, you can set up access control, such as authentication via electronic ID. This ensures that only the right person can view and sign the document.
How can I be sure that the signers won’t say that the signature is not theirs?
Penneo collects and stores the signers’ consent to sign the contract digitally and includes this information in the final PDF. Moreover, the signers’ data and their activities on the contract (access, view, signature) are recorded in an event log which can be used as evidence of the signing process.
With Penneo Sign, companies can:
   Get contracts securely signed with eID authentication, audit trail, and encryption
   Reduce contract turnaround time by letting recipients sign from anywhere and from any device
   Speed up repetitive tasks with templates for recurring documents and signers
  Securely store all their signed contracts in one place
