(21 July 2020 – Australia) ANZ has released a new electronic signature and digital document execution tool as the COVID-19 crisis and social distancing rules rapidly hasten long overdue digitisation in financial services.
ANZ introduced the new ‘eSign’ digital signature functionality across a wide range of applications. The NextGen.Net solution enables ANZ to offer online streamlined credit critical renewal (SCCR), non-credit critical renewal (NCC) and home loans. Post-approval documents do not yet have eSign capability, requiring a physical signature as standard. Before using the ANZ eSign functionality customer consent must be provided to lodge the documents online. Customers who are unable to or would simply prefer not to sign their documents digitally are still able to physically sign them.
The bank is tasking brokers with informing new and existing customers that specific application types may now be signed digitally from next week.
The Big Four majors are racing to catch up to neobanks and Fintechs already offering digital identity verification and e-signature capability. In response to the coronavirus pandemic, lenders have relaxed many rules to abide by strict social distancing requirements including video conferencing instead of face-to-face meetings for brokers, digital verification of identification processes and e-signatures. The Australian Banking Association (ABA) is pushing for the federal government to keep the temporary rules allowing lenders to process documents digitally. Among other changes, the associations seek to make e-signatures standard for a broader range of legal and business documents, including guarantees, statutory declarations and trust deeds.
“With more of everyday life becoming digital, we are striving to place helpful, easy to use and convenient solutions in the hands of both our customers and you. If your customer is unable to, or would prefer not to sign their documents digitally, they can still physically sign” ANZ said in a statement.
“E-signatures are more secure than wet signatures and offer greater protection and accessibility for customers. We’ve seen countless examples where the availability of e-signature has mitigated the risk of end customers experiencing financial loss or missed opportunities due to circumstances of location that are beyond their control, and this is not isolated to the COVID-19 period” said DocuSign Asia Pacific VP, Brad Newton.