Electronic signatures can also offer added value in the analog space, as the Scrive project shows. The biggest challenge for brick-and-mortar retailers today is competition from the Internet.
Suppose they want to bring the younger, digitally savvy target group into their stores. In that case, they must create new, innovative offers. Some will come in various bonus programs; click-and-collect offers are already in place. Retailers who want to offer their customers a fully digital POS must also integrate the option of a legally secure contract conclusion.
A written form requirement is not only a complex word but also repeatedly causes media disruptions in digital processes. Scrive faced the challenge of digitally mapping contracts subject to this requirement - this concerns specifically credit and mobile phone contracts. Today, purchasing processes are more digital than ever. Previously, signing contracts often involved an analog disruption for customers. Conversely, this meant that companies had much work to do with partly analog and partly digital data management and verification. With the solution from Swisscom Trust Services and Scrive, sending, signing, and managing contracts becomes possible on any device. The solutions close the last gap to completely paperless contracting and improve the customer experience and data quality.
In the case of cell phone and credit contracts concluded in stores, the dealers are not the direct contractual partners of the customers but only act as intermediaries. The contracts must also be shared with the mobile provider or a bank.
Another problem with analog contracts in a digital world is archiving. The documents must be kept and stored in file folders, or employees must scan them - both are cumbersome and cost time. A digital solution is also required to realize the full potential of digitized processes.
Only the qualified electronic signature (QES) fulfills the written form requirement in the digital space. Scrive has decided to integrate the corresponding white-label product from Swisscom Trust Services. The joint solution offers numerous options for personalization and adaptation to the branding of merchants or other third-party providers. For example, templates can be created for frequently used processes, and distribution lists can be uploaded for multiple signatures.
Customers who want to conclude a contract in the store can read the contract text on a tablet at leisure. The QES is then triggered: Scrive provides the front end for the signature with its eSign platform, while Swisscom provides the identification for the electronic signature.
"In-store signing significantly expands the user base for our QES offering", says Viktor Wrede, CEO at Scrive.
Once the process is complete, the customer receives a copy of the contract by e-mail, and merchants can directly archive or pass on the documents digitally - legally secure, of course: documents signed with Scrive comply with worldwide contract law and are enforceable in court. Every copy signed with Scrive provides a comprehensive evidence package with a detailed audit trail and a tamper-proof digital seal that Scrive can independently verify.