It’s safe to say that not many suppliers, if any, like receiving paper contracts and processing a bunch of paperwork. And once that paperwork is filled out, staff has to scan or manually enter information from those paper forms. It’s inefficient and time-consuming, and it’s why more and more companies are using digital signatures for contract compliance.

With e-signatures and digital forms, businesses can electronically fill out the forms at their convenience, and data is sent to the supplier automatically, so no more paperwork is necessary.

Many sectors can use e-signatures; however, they must comply with the relevant Electronic Transactions Acts and the Electronic Identification and Trust Services Regulation (eIDAS Regulation 910/2014/EC). This regulation simplifies and standardizes digital IDs and signatures across Europe to help create a “Digital Single Market.”

It makes it much easier for you and your customers to conduct secure digital transactions in your own country and across European Union (EU) member states.

Implementing digital signatures for contract compliance with eIDAS is one of the main benefits of Trakti’s contract management solution.

What is a digital signature?

So let’s start from the beginning.

Essentially electronic signature has the objective of clarifying to everyone that the person signing is actually who they say they are and that they understand what is in the contract.
A reliable electronic signature shall have equal legal force with a handwritten signature or the seal.
Digital signatures also refer to the process (or method) of producing such data. It reliably connects the electronic signature with the electronic signatory.

eIDAS is a key enabler for cross-border contract compliance

The eIDAS sets a foundation for all electronic signatures by asserting that no signature can be denied legal admissibility solely because it’s in electronic form. Typical e-signatures fulfill this requirement.

The Regulation on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market (eIDAS Regulation) is a milestone towards creating a predictable regulatory environment. The eIDAS Regulation will help businesses, citizens and public authorities carry out secure and seamless electronic interactions. 

The eIDAS Regulation:

• ensures that people and businesses can use their own national electronic identification schemes (eIDs) to access public services available online in other EU countries;
• creates a European internal market for trust services by ensuring that they will work across borders and have the same legal status as their traditional paper-based equivalents.

Only by providing certainty on the legal validity of these services will businesses and citizens use digital interactions naturally.

Electronic signature: security and transparency for contract management

They introduce visibility into each and every stage and help detect even minor altering/tampering. 

With a digital signature, the sender can’t dispute the signature if a dispute arises. This guarantee of authenticity and non-repudiation is essential in allowing contract completion to feasibly occur electronically.

Trakti has partnered with Infocert, a leading Qualified Trust Service Provider, to enhance contract security and compliance through digital signatures. This partnership ensures that Trakti users can access legally binding digital signature solutions that comply with the eIDAS Regulation. By integrating Infocert’s trusted digital signature services, Trakti provides a seamless and secure way to execute contracts while ensuring authentication, integrity, and non-repudiation. This collaboration simplifies the signing process, reduces administrative burdens, and enhances the overall efficiency of contract management.

So, how do you ensure your digital signatures for contract compliance are integrated into your document management software?

Let’s start by first taking a look at some of the more obvious benefits of signing up with Trakti about security.