Improving customer satisfaction, mitigating security risks, and lowering costs are important factors for lenders to improve their practices — and in this era of digital distribution, adapting to e-signature technology may be the answer to obtaining these benefits.
Greater customer satisfaction serves as a top advantage because it means there’s a higher chance of repeat business and referrals. For example, First Tech Federal Credit Union increased its net promoter score — the willingness of customers to recommend a company’s products or services to others — by 10% after adopting e-signature technology, according to a white paper by DocuSign.
Furthermore, adopting e-signatures could reduce costs and enhance revenue. On average, 26% of companies utilizing e-signatures are more profitable, generate 9% greater revenues, and have 12% higher market valuations, according to Capgemini Consulting data.
Lenders currently experiencing the benefits of allowing consumers to electronically sign and submit financial contracts online, or via a mobile device, include Ally Financial, Western Funding Inc., Westlake Financial Services, and RouteOne.
With benefits like this in mind, there’s still a big concern with this technology — data security. However, “there are a couple key areas where digital transaction management shines,” said Reggie Davis, DocuSign’s general counsel, in an interview published on the company website.
In fact, compliance and security-risk mitigation is a benefit to e-signatures as data and documents are placed in a tamper-evident container that adheres to security-certified standards, Davis said.
Digital transactions also provide clear attribution as a link is enabled between an individual and their role in a transaction. Customers are provided an audit trail that includes timestamps, IP addresses, and other transaction details.
Additionally, there are multi-factor authentication processes that include one-time passwords, phone authentication, and knowledge-based authentication, these measures provide additional gates of security, which is not available with paper.
