The E-signature Market in the Philippines: A Broad Perspective | DrySign in Philippines

The digital revolution has resulted in unparalleled levels of productivity and ease. We are currently thriving in an age where technology has a hold on just about and any and every aspect of our life – from shopping to paying bills, to buying groceries and signing documents! However, as much as technology has our lives simpler, it has simultaneously lead to a spike in threats such as data theft and cybersecurity attacks. This is where secure solutions like electronic signatures can play a significant role in preventing fraud and data theft in day to day processes like signing and documentation workflows.

An electronic signature or eSignature is information logically related to other data and is used to sign the associated data by the signatory. An electronic signature provides a safe and accurate form of identification for the signatory to facilitate a smooth transaction. Today, companies and organizations widely use e-signatures to gain approvals on critical documents such as onboarding forms, agreements, sales proposals, and contracts, etc.

Before eSignatures, a firm's work moved at a glacial pace, with people relying on time-consuming, paper-centric processes like printing, scanning, and faxing documents to gain the necessary consent. Enter 2020, and the COVID-19 pandemic commences. Offices were in an uproar due to mandatory remote working. Companies and firms had to shift their processes overnight to adapt to this new way of working. But social distancing created a gap in ways to conduct business digitally. As a result, e-signatures leaped to the rescue of firms looking for workflow automation solutions. In this blog, we provide you with a broad outlook on the Philippines eSignature market since then and its future prospects.

History of E-signatures

E-signatures were first developed in 1977 by Ronald Rivest, Adi Shamir, and Len Adleman. They invented an algorithm known as RSA, which took the first initials of their surnames so that information could be transferred securely. It would be used in public-key cryptography or asymmetric cryptography, where the data can be decrypted using two keys, a public and a private one. The algorithm would play a significant role in public key infrastructure (PKI), a set of policies and protocols for the management of public-key encryption, and the creation to the nullification of digital certificates.

E-signatures have been legal in the Philippines since the passing of two pieces of legislation – Republic Act No. 8792 (RA 8792) and the Electronic Commerce Act of 2000 (“E-Commerce Act”). The RA 8792 overlooks the use of electronic commercial and non-commercial transactions and documents. On the other hand, the Electronic Commerce Act is accountable for regulating electronic documents used for personal and professional purposes. This Act was signed into law by the then-President of the Philippines, Joseph Estrada in March 2000. It stated that electronic signatures are valid as long as they comply with its rules.

Types of E-signatures

·         Simple eSignature (SES) is used in verifying a person’s digital identity.

·         Advanced eSignature (AES) is an advanced form of SES that identifies users through a digital certificate attributed to them. This protects the integrity of the document and ensures it remains tamper-proof.

·         Qualified eSignature (QES) is a highly secure method of identifying signers via digital certificates attributed to users through a government-sponsored scheme and a trusted service provider (TSP).

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