There are many different
types of signatures that you may come across in your life. Wet
signatures,
digital signatures, and electronic
signatures are all common nowadays. But what is the difference between the three? This blog post will answer that question for you!
What is a wet signature?
A wet
signature is a handwritten
signature in wet ink that you make on a piece of paper.
What is a digital signature?
A
digital signature is a type of electronic
signature which you create by typing your
personal information such as name, email address, and date of birth into a
digital form. You then sign the
document electronically by hitting "enter" or some other designated key to signify approval of the
document or agreement with its terms.
What is an electronic signature?
An electronic
signature, or
eSignature, is an electronic representation of your wet,
digital, or wet inked
signature which appears as a graphic image of your
signature. An example would be "John Smith" scanned into the computer and then digitally
signed to produce an electronic version of John's wet ink
signature.
What are wet signatures used for?
Wet
signatures are mainly used in
business and government settings as a physical in wet ink
signature is more difficult to forge than
digital or electronic records.
What are digital signatures used for?
Digital signatures are more common in this day and age.
Digital signatures work as a
digital certificate to verify that the
document was
signed by the person who claims to have done so- wet ink,
digital, or wet electronic
signature.
What are electronic signatures used for?
eSignatures are typically used in e-commerce settings, government, and
business transactions.
What are the benefits of wet, digital, and electronic signatures?
Wet
signatures can't be copied like a
digital signature so they're harder to forge but wet ink doesn't last long (a week at most) so wet
signatures are mostly used in
business and government settings.
Digital signatures have fewer
security concerns and can't be copied like wet ink, but they don't last long either.
Digital signatures expire after a certain amount of time (usually 30 days).
Electronic
signatures are hard to forge and have a high level of
security. They ensure that clients receive their documents immediately, therefore saving on time and money. It also helps to improve data
security and integrity.
How does each type of signature affect business processes?
Wet signatures are not as secure to use in
business and government settings because wet ink can be copied but it is harder to forge.
Digital signatures expire after a certain amount of time so they're not very good for long-term transactions or legal documents. They can't be forged like wet ink, though.
Electronic
signatures are more secure than wet ink or
digital copies and they don't expire so they're good for long-term transactions, legal documents, and agreements.
Using the right type of signature for different purposes
All wet,
digital, and electronic
signatures are used for different purposes. Wet ink is the most common form of wet
signature which can be forged but it also has benefits such as its permanence in wet environments.
Digital signatures may expire after a certain amount of time but they're much harder to forge than wet or electronic copies. Electronic
signatures are more secure than wet and
digital signatures as they can't be forged. An electronic
signature solution is also harder to forge because of the complicated process it takes to make one.
