Notarization is required for many of life’s most important documents that can now be obtained even online. Clients must locate, arrange, and meet a notary public to get their signature validated, which is a time-consuming process. The times, however, are changing. Some states have made efforts to create laws that will allow electronic closings to serve isolated communities better. However, as the COVID-19 crisis erupted, real change began to occur.
At the start of the epidemic, many countries took extraordinary measures to hasten the adoption of remote online notarization, allowing borrowers and notaries to sign papers without needing to be in the same room.
Significantly, remote online notarization can benefit financial services organizations and their customers in the future while also allowing important activities to continue during the outbreak. This is because such businesses have an internet presence and require notarization services. However, this article will discuss some of the advantages of notarizing documents online.
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What are Online Notarization Services?
A state-licensed notary public notarizes a document remotely using an electronic signature, identity verification, audio-visual, and electronic notarial journal, along with record-keeping technology known as remote online notarization (RON).
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The Benefits of Online Notarization Services:
Clear Audit Trails
Notarized documents signed with ink and paper are essentially stand-alone records. This is because such documents are sealed by a notary who is an agent of the law and are presumed to be valid. However, since there are no tamper-proof materials to back up these documents, the people whose names appear as signers can contest them.
RON is an electronic document storage system that keeps track of who has access to a document, who has shared it, who has electronically signed it, who has electronically notarized it, and where each party was when the online notarization took place. Significantly, because you can’t change these digital records, the signers can’t say they didn’t participate in the transaction.
Furthermore, the video recording of the notarization also serves as a powerful support for the e-documents. The lender has access to an audit trail and an audio-video recording of the online notarization session if the transaction is ever questioned; in that case, the vendor or service provider also benefits from RON.
Safe and More Convenient
With the COVID-19 epidemic still looming, RON delivers the optimal approach for clients and lawyers to transact in the legal verification of documents and identities securely. Also, borrowers and loan officers in the lending industry need remote capabilities to maintain social distance while conducting business.
Significantly, where states employ lockdowns or parties are located far apart, the functionality of RON shows substantial proof. This is especially true for those in quarantine and COVID-positive people who cannot leave their current area.
RON eliminates the impracticality and health dangers of face-to-face notarization when domestic and cross-country travel offer obstacles. Such a modern yet practical method offers a solution for individuals working or residing in foreign countries, those serving in the military overseas, and those pressed for time.
Reduction of Fraud
The law requires that both parties build trust before proceeding with the transaction when executing notary duties online. Online notarization goes to great lengths to reduce the amount of fraud during such transactions. Sites for online notarization are built with various identity-proof stages, including credential analysis and authentication questions, to eliminate the risk of fraud.
A notary must verify the signers’ information on a national identification card since many spammers alter or take photos of themselves before acquiring facial hair or gaining weight. However, the online notary platform layers can scan the ID and confirm that the photographs match those signed in the profile.
Enhancement of Business Partnerships
Businesses that sought to build relationships with others would hire a notary to witness the signing of documents in person. With the development of online notary services, the procedure has been streamlined and more straightforward. Such document validation technique has made it straightforward to verify that all documents are genuine.
However, it’s best to double-check that the state where your business partner is based allows for online notarization. You must know that you could be fined if you use one of these device services since they can be illegal in some countries. However, if the government allows it, it will be incredibly beneficial to your firm’s growth.
Retention of Document Integrity
A notary must maintain document content integrity to avoid lawsuits or false charges. Property sellers, agents, and buyers in the real estate business work with notaries to authenticate, securely exchange, and save important documents linked to a property sale utilizing RON.
Additionally, RON can provide soft copies of legal documents with tamper-evident digital seals/signatures thanks to digital encryption. If the document’s original content is altered, the seal is revoked, and the document’s potentially malevolent intent is disclosed.
Bottomline
The widespread acceptance of remote online notarization by state governments, lawyers, enterprises, and clients demonstrates that modern society is progressively appreciating the benefits of digital technology while enhancing the quality of contemporary life.
The success of RON defines that convenience and security do not have to be mutually exclusive. Furthermore, transactions are completed faster in RON than in traditional notarization, and crucial papers are maintained more securely.
