Sign at the dotted line

This blog is sponsored by Adobe Document Cloud.

While customer needs are changing, the goal of a customer-centric organization has always been to deliver exceptional customer service, when the customers want it, and how they want it. 

One of the goals of digital transformation is to enable a more seamless customer experience. But that does not mean simply replicating the analog experience in a digital channel.

Rather, thoughtful digital transformation always starts with the customer journey: What do the customers want to accomplish? 

Take the instance of bank account opening. Such a journey often ends with a signature — or rather, does it begin with one? 

So how do organizations handle signatures in the age of digital? While it might seem like a trivial step, it is one that carries great significance.

Let’s walk down memory lane. 

Seals have long been used as a form of written identification in various cultures. While they may come in different styles and sizes, they are typically engraved with the name of the person (or organization), and are made of hard materials such as wood, glass, jade, or other precious metal. These seals (otherwise known as chops in Hong Kong where I grew up, derived from the Hindi word Chaap) are used instead of, or alongside, handwritten signatures for financial or other legal documents — though such practices were most common when most people could not read or write. 

Fast forward to today. Personal chops are no longer being used in most instances around the world. India has since rolled out its Aadhaar eSign initiative, an online electronic signature service in India to facilitate an Indian citizen digitally signing a document without being physically present — as long as they have an Aadhaar card and a mobile number. As for the U.S., it has been 20 years since the ESIGN Act — which grants electronic signatures the same legal status as handwritten signatures throughout the United States; and the UETA (Uniform Electronic Transactions Act), adopted by most of the states.

The adoption of electronic signature has various benefits, including:

• Security: Signed documents can be protected by encryption technology and an audit trail can be established;
• Operational efficiency: Electronically signed documents reduce the manual labor for printing and handling, saving time and cost for materials;
• Customer experience: By integrating electronic signatures into mobile applications or online workflows, customers can have a more streamlined experience, instead of wasting time printing and scanning signed papers.

The latter is especially important from a consumer’s point of view, since digital has become table stakes and the benchmark for a seamless digital experience is set much higher than ever before — especially in the age of big tech and online shopping. From account opening to loan application, adopting electronic signatures and enabling an end-to-end digital workflow can help to create a frictionless and more streamlined customer experience. 

Such is the case with Benefytt, an insurtech company where 90% of its customer interactions are electronic, highly unusual for an industry that is traditionally dominated by paper-based resources. With Adobe Sign, Benefytt’s customers can fill out enrollment forms and sign disclaimers electronically across different devices. Without having to email or fax documents, both the customers and sales teams benefit from the shorter and simpler enrollment process, allowing critical services to be delivered quickly. 

The events in the past few months have shown us that going digital is no longer a road less-traveled. From banking to insurance, we have an opportunity to leverage digital technologies to meet customers where they are, delivering critical services seamlessly and securely. 

And we have come a long way from the days of a physical seal.  

Hear more about digital transformation in financial services in our recent LinkedIn Live panel with Adobe Document Cloud: “Exploring current FSI trends, shifts, and digital-first strategies for the future”