In this article, we have elaborately explained the factors affecting digital signature costs set by an online vendor. Read it to see why is it worth availing yourself of yours now.
Digital Signature Cost: A digital signature has been defined as a mathematical scheme that is used to scrutinize the authenticity of online documents or notifications. A genuine digital signature that satisfies all the necessary conditions provides any recipient with a premium level of confidence that the proclaimed sender issued the document.
Digital signatures help us to determine the intention of the signatory parties. Many top nations, including India, legally approve the validity of these signatures informal contracts. Digital signatures implement asymmetric cryptography to detect whether the document has arrived at the recipient’s address through a non-secure path or not. Thus, we cannot claim handwritten signatures are more valid than digital signatures.
In this article, we will discuss the digital signature cost set by service providers through which we can electronically sign any document and share it with anyone who has shared their contact with us.
Digital Signature Cost – Aspects
Global business hubs acknowledged the validity of online signatures as soon as they realized their advantages. It is an eco-friendly concept that has even boosted commercial operations regarding execution pace. It also saves money.
Many enterprises keep on wondering, “how much investment do they need to put aside for digital signature services?” It is a bit tricky question, but we have got you covered. Eventually, a few key factors govern the digital signature cost, which must be individually addressed before considering investing in this facility.
Five significant aspects determine the digital signature price. They are as follows:
- Clients and volume
- Identity authentication
- Security and legislature
- Flexibility
- Lifetime charges
1. Clients and Volume: On average majority of cloud-based software applications exhibit a pricing strategy based on the volume of clients and frequency of usage. Digital signature services are not different in this respect. However, this must be informed upfront that all the signers do not need to have any license to avail this facility. You can all sign digitally online without incurring a penny. The people who must secure licensing are those who send documents out for signing. Companies act strategically to curb such expenses.
On most occasions, only one person gets hold of the license. He is an influential business figure in that enterprise, a secretary or operational manager. Not only this method saves investment, but also it relieves the company from arranging extra training sessions.
2. Identity authentication: Anyone new to setting up an enterprise must realise that knowing his partners and clients at a more intricate level is critical for smooth business operations, especially when collaborations, contracts or agreements, etc., take place online. Here comes a life-saving aspect of digital signatures, referred to as identity authentication. This technical concept provides you with data that you have already recorded in your system within the profile of the signer.
These can be his ID details, contact details, date of birth, and much more. Thus if any such information mismatches, you can easily predict that the intended ender did not issue the message.The digital signature price depends on identity authentication as many authentication types implement a separate formula. The frequency of usage also determines the cost. A few identity authentication options:
- KBA or knowledge-based authentication: In this method, the signer has to enter his DOB or any security pin that he was intimidated by. Then he must answer a set of questions, the answers of which are checked against the recorded database. This is a strict method that extracts data from credit reports, town hall events, etc.
- Mobile phone authentication uses a one-time password issued by the vendor in the registered phone number. The phone user needs to enter the code to access the files sent to him.
- Email authentication: The verification link is sent to the intended recipient’s mail inbox. This is a simple method as it proves the person viewing the file has access to that registered account.
- Shared secret questions: Here, the signer has to reply to a question attached to the file. It must match the answer as per previously recorded information. An example of this type of question is – tell me the name of your favourite football club.
3. Security and legislature: There are many free digital signature services available in the market, but they do not offer all the fantastic security aspects that adequately safeguard critical documents like government-protected social healthcare information, life insurance policy directories, etc. Thus depending on the following security provisions, digital signature costs are set accordingly:
- Tamper proof: Files are protected from tampering through the communication path. If any editing attempt takes place, the receiver will be immediately notified in their mail inbox.
- Detailed Audit Trail: Legal papers, when forwarded online, need to come with the highest levels of protection. Thus you must hire services that offer a detailed log of events involving the history of a forwarded file – commonly known as an audit trail.
- Advanced compliance: Your signature service provider should only extend those facilities that comply with the legislature of your homeland. Many signature vendors charge seemingly high digital signature costs, but they comply with UETA and ESIGN, defining industry-specific standards. It is better to consider them in the long run.
4. Flexibility: Many secretaries go for a ready-to-use service, while even enterprise dealers prefer custom-tailored solutions. Depending on what the buyer wants, the signature price fluctuates. It is much less if you go for a basic plan but to secure the communication channels fully; you may consider a full-board customised option.
5. Lifetime charges: You must ensure that the service provider keeps on upgrading his technology throughout the service’s life cycle. Also, it is necessary to check the vendor policies minutely; you must confirm they do not hold evidence of your official file on their server. It can become a huge liability if any legal charges arise against you. Thus do not compromise your future for a lower price, and scrutinise each aspect before choosing your vendor.
Bottom Line – Digital Signature Cost
Many price calculators are available online that determine the approximate digital signature cost. You need to feed in two essential pieces of information. Firstly, you should estimate how many people you will allow access to files that are to be sent with virtual signatures. Next, you need to get an idea about the total number of documents that would be signed and distributed every year. These two things will um up your signature price.
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