With Labor Day here and schools across the country opening their doors to students, many people have once again begun to concern themselves with what steps they can take to reduce their exposure to the swine flu, or H1N1 virus. So many young people gathered in such cramped quarters for extended periods of time makes school officials understandably nervous about the potential spreading of this virus. Parents too are concerned that their children may be exposed to H1N1 at the same time that the usual flu season is upon us. However, the potential effects of H1N1 are not limited to schools and universities. The office workplace shares many of the same characteristics; people who spend several hours in close proximity to one another who then return home to further close interaction and extended time with their families. In fact, the potential for disruptions in the workplace is actually greater because workers who have school-age children may be forced to stay at home with children who are infected. One report from the state of Florida suggested that businesses would have to find ways to cope with a rise in absenteeism among workers who have children that become infected. Some of the ideas floated were an increased reliance on tele-commuting for those whose primary work is done on a PC, more organized flex-time arrangements to accommodate those whose physical presence is required at their workplace, and the adoption and implementation of paperless business processes wherever possible.
There are two primary reasons for the electronic or paperless initiative. The first dovetails with the increased reliance on tele-commuting; simply stated, that documents that can be securely sent, reviewed and signed regardless of the geographical location of the other entities involved makes it possible for those who are infected with swine flu or have family members that are infected to stay home and still remain productive .It may also serve to keep that worker, who is now at a higher risk of contracting H1N1 themselves, away from the office and to possibly avoid passing the virus on to other co-workers. The second reason is less understood but far more important.
The length of time that the flu can usually survive outside the body on an environmental surface, such as a doorknob or automobile latch can vary widely, but the widely accepted range is from a few minutes to perhaps two full days – depending on the specific strain of virus and the type of surface. Flu viruses tend to live longer on surfaces than standard cold viruses do, and it is generally believed that the H1N1 may mutate, allowing it to live even longer than previously thought. One study suggests that in laboratory conditions, flu virus can survive for up to two weeks or more on paper. Quoting from that article, Dr. Yves Thomas and other colleagues at the Geneva University Hospital in Switzerland dripped multiple strains of flu virus – including some that were circulating during winter 2007 – onto Swiss banknotes and left them at room temperature for varying amounts of time previously testing for live virus. Some strains of flu lasted only two hours, but some lasted up to 72 hours. However, all the strains lasted longer when they were dripped onto the notes along with human nasal mucus. Some lasted as long as 17 days. One strain that lasted only two hours on its own lasted 24 hours in mucus. “I’m surprised the virus persisted so long,” says Graeme Laver, an expert in the spread of bird flu, formerly of the Australian National University in Canberra. But the flu virus likes wet environments – and mucus is ideal because it is designed to retain water.
eOriginal offers improved workflow and security and can eliminate the need for paper processes. The electronic process is completely secure and will help to streamline your business processes. As long as a signer has internet access, your documents can be signed, secured, and managed online allowing you to execute your business transactions from anywhere, anytime. We can also assist in eliminating missing signatures and incomplete documents. Your internal or external customers cannot complete the signing process without documents being properly signed. This can also reduce or eliminate the need to ship or re-ship documents and reduces the need for multiple employees, couriers, and signers to physically handle documents.
eOrignal’s electronic signature solutions can reduce the amount of paper that travels through your office that needs to be physically handled throughout your business process and, as added benefit with the reduction of paper, your employees may remain healthier throughout the flu season. As President Obama said about H1N1 in a recent speech to the National Institutes of Health, “We want to make sure we are not promoting panic. but we are promoting vigilance and preparation.” Good preparation and a willingness to act before a problem strikes are hallmarks of great companies and institutions. Please feel free to contact us to ask how eOriginal can help you with your electronic business initiative.
Recent congressional amendments to Truth in Lending Act (TILA) known as the Mortgage Disclosure Improvement Act of 2008 (MDIA) have been included in a final rule amending Federal Reserve Regulation Z. Known as the “3/7/3 Rule”, these amendments went into effect July 30, 2009 and have a significant compliance impact on the operations of home loan lenders, mortgage and real estate brokerages, title and real estate agents, and others in the loan process. The new 3/7/3 Rule provides consumers defined time periods to review disclosures from their lenders. While the amendments provide additional protections to the consumer, they may postpone their closing date and the ability to receive funding for their mortgage on the day they originally planned for closing.
3 Days – Delivery of the initial TILA disclosure.
The initial Truth in Lending Statement must be delivered to the consumer/borrower within 3 business days of the receipt of the loan application by the lender. The TILA statement is presumed to be delivered to the consumer 3 business days after it is mailed to the consumer.
Faster Delivery. The Rule allows for delivery of the TILA statement by electronic communication or e-mail under the requirements of the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (”E-Sign Act”), 15U.S.C. 7001 et seq., provided that the lender can provide “evidence of receipt” of the mortgage loan disclosure by the consumer. eOriginal SmartSign® Web electronic signature and vaulting solution enables lenders to reduce the delivery time from 3 days to the same day by electronically delivering the mortgage loan disclosures in real time and capturing evidence of receipt by the consumer.
Quicker Fee Collection. For the lender, the Rule prohibits collection of any fee, including those for applications or appraisals, other than a bona fide credit report fee reasonable in amount, until the initial TILA disclosure is delivered to the consumer. However, lenders “may impose such fees anytime after the consumer actuallyreceives the early mortgage loan disclosure”. By enabling lenders to deliver the initial TILA disclosure as soon as it is available, eOriginal SmartSign® Web digital signature and valuting accelerates the ability of lenders to collect the fees necessary to actually begin the loan approval and closing process. e.g., appraisals, surveys, reports, etc. even to the same day as the application.
7 days from Initial Disclosure – Mortgage Closing Waiting Period.
The Rule prohibits the lender and consumer from closing or settling on the mortgage loan transaction until 7 business days after the delivery or mailing of the TILA disclosures, including the Good Faith Estimate and disclosure of the final Annual Percentage Rate (APR), even when all parties are prepared and desire to do so.
Quicker Closing. Surpassing the presumption of delivery of the disclosures 3 days after mailing, eOriginal SmartSign® Web again accelerates the ability to close by enabling lenders to deliver the initial TILA disclosure as soon as it is available,
3 Days prior to Mortgage Closing – APR Waiting Period.
The Rule also requires the lender to provide the consumer with an accurate APR at least 3 business days before closing. This applies when the APR changes more than .125% from the APR previously disclosed. If the APR changes again in the 3 day period more than the .125%, another delivery of disclosure and 3 day waiting period begins.
Quicker APR Cure. Again surpassing the presumption of delivery of the redisclosures 3 days after mailing, eOriginal SmartSign® Web accelerates the ability to close by enabling lenders to deliver the TILA redisclosure as soon as it is available,
Mortgage Closing Costs Savings Beyond Just Quick.
Shortening the distance from application to closing, electronic transmission and delivery of disclosures streamlines the workflow process, assuring both the consumer and the lender of the timeliest closing. Of course, there are dramatic benefits to electronic delivery of the disclosure documents in addition to the ability to reduce the time lines. There are cost and expense reductions from the preparing and copying the disclosures, the mailing or overnight courier fees, the cost of staff for tracking and follow up of the delivery and possible fines that may accrue for delayed closings.
There are different twists in the application of the MDIA depending on the type of financing being considered, e.g., closed end home mortgages or home equity lines of credit, and there are many compliance aspects to consider in addition to the delivery of disclosures. eOriginal provides solutions to assist in compliance with the delivery thresholds so as to enable the commencement of the mortgage loan process as soon possible and to assure that delivery requirements will not delay mortgage closing any longer than possible under the Rule. eOriginal SmartSign® Web enables compliance with the eSignature requirements of the E-SIGN Act and provides the “evidence of receipt” of the mortgage loan disclosure by the consumer required by MDIA. eOriginal has enabled the secure, verifiable delivery of mortgage and other financial industry documentation for over a decade.
Baltimore, MD (Vocus/PRWEB) – August 6, 2009 -eOriginal, Inc., a leader in enabling end-to-end paperless transactions, announced today that Pioneer Services, the Military Banking Division of MidCountry Bank, has joined eOriginal’s high-level financial institution client list and is using the electronic signature and vaulting solution of SmartSign® Web and eCore® On Demand. Transactions for Pioneer Services will now be executed electronically and managed throughout their lifecycle within the eCore® electronic vault.
“eOriginal’s electronic signature solutions go beyond document generation and basic electronic signatures” said, Samantha Moritz, eOriginal’s director of sales and marketing. “In addition to electronically signing each loan transaction, eOriginal ensures that each signed document is authenticated and protected using digital signatures to create tamper-evident seals around all documents placed under the control of the electronic vault. Important documents may be maintained in an authenticated electronic format for their full legal life.”
Once the contracts are electronically signed, eOriginal’s vaulting technology creates a digitally sealed audit trail for the complete lifecycle of each deposited document. This secure audit trail provides the highest level of non-repudiation of the evidentiary record for events such as access, signing, reuse, print, or view requests by any user or external system. Actions affecting admissibility or enforceability including new versions, additional electronic signatures, assignment, and custody transfers – are tracked and permanently recorded in the audit trail.
The resulting document is a legal, tamper-proof eContract that eliminates the need for any physical paper processing. The eContracts are true electronic finance documents that are tamper-evident, auditable, legally enforceable, admissible, and negotiable. eOriginal electronic signature and vaulting solutions are also compliant with ESIGN, UETA and UCC Revised Article 9-105.
For additional information on the news that is the subject of this release (or for a demonstration), contact John Jacobs at 410-625-5149, or visit www.eoriginal.com.
About eOriginal
eOriginal, Inc. provides advanced electronic signature and vaulting solutions which enable organizations to eliminate paper while legally protecting their assets as Electronic Original® documents are managed and transitioned throughout their lifecycle. eOriginal technology and processes create legally binding electronic signatures and electronic documents that are tamper-evident, auditable and legally enforceable. eOriginal technology provides compliance for managing electronic signatures and transferable records under E-Sign, UETA and the UCC. eOriginal customers, including top-tier financial institutions, have processed more than 5 million electronic signatures on documents without a single system error or legal challenge.
About Pioneer Services
Pioneer Services, the Military Banking Division of MidCountry Bank, provides financial services and award-winning education to members of the Armed Forces. For more than 20 years, Pioneer Services has been a leader in military lending, offering military loans and award-winning financial education programs through a network of offices and on the Internet. Pioneer Services is proud to support military families and communities through a variety of partnerships, programs, and sponsorships. For more information, visit PioneerServices.com.
If you are reading this article, you are probably looking to improve workflow, increase productivity and cut costs. Most likely, you are evaluating electronic signature products as one means to achieve this goal. With the plethora of electronic signing vendors available, how do you know which one is right for you? Most importantly, how do you know when you need more than just an eSignature?
Let’s start with a simple definition of an eSignatures. An electronic signature, by definition of the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA), is any “electronic sound, symbol, or process attached to or logically associated with a record and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record.” That’s a broad definition, leading to a wide variety of electronic signature solutions ranging from clicking an ‘I Agree’ button, embedding an image or text that describes the signer, to embedding a digitized version of a hand-written signature (often referred to as a biometric signature) and anything in between.
Each of these eSignature approaches are valid methods of electronic signing. Which approach is right for you depends on a variety of factors:
How closely do you need or want to mirror the paper signing process (very often a comfort factor for your signers)?
Do you need to capture signatures on specific areas within your documents?
Will your signers be signing at a point of presence facility or will they need to sign remotely anywhere, anytime?
Once you have identified the eSigning approach that meets your needs, you need to ask yourself one more question – is eSigning enough?
Sometimes an esignature alone is ample; however, very often, it is not. An eSignature process alone will not protect against scenarios in which signers may execute multiple versions of the same document or generate multiple, indistinguishable copies creating confusion as to which one is the original opening the door for possible fraud. An eSignature process does not address the management and control of the electronically signed document throughout its lifecycle nor will it address the ability to electronically securitize or assign the document if necessary…but an Electronic Original® process will.
An Electronic Original process not only offers full electronic signing capabilities, but it also manages the electronically signed document in a secure repository, or electronic vault, establishing control and uniqueness of the electronically signed document. To further secure the document, it is digitally sealed, making content and signature revisions readily identifiable. Access to the vaulted document is controlled and all activities are recorded in a sealed audit trail. Furthermore, Electronic Original documents may represent electronic chattel and are rated the same as paper chattel and may be electronically securitized or assigned.
To learn more about the Electronic Original process and whether it is right for you, check out The Electronic Original Company®, our knowledgeable staff can help you determine if you need more than eSigning.
We are excited to announce the release of our latest version of the eCore product suite, which includes a completely redesigned user interface (Command Center) to interact with your signed Electronic Original documents. Also included in this release is a new version of our SmartSign electronic signature software.
Some of the highlights of the release include:
Sophisticated transaction and document searching. Command Center now allows users to locate information faster through new search screens. These screens allow users to locate their transactions or documents by name, creation date, status, or the customers own unique identifier. Users are also provided with customized search parameters that can be mapped to their internal systems. Users also have access to a directed search function to upload lists for rapidly finding items within the secure repository.
Batch system processing. Command Center has been enhanced to enable batch processing of any collection of transactions and documents managed within eCore. Users can now easily perform actions such as transfer, edit, update status, print, export, and destruction of collections of transactions or documents. All pending batch actions are easily identified within the user interface, and the role-based permission system enables organizations to easily delegate responsibilities across user groups within their company.
Enhanced Control of Transferable Records Transactions. eOriginal has enhanced the eCore contract lifecycle management and transferable records automation functionality. Customers may now define complex business rules to be used during a transfer of ownership. eCore offers unparalleled flexibility to controllers of documents during the transfer process. Users can select individual documents, or sets of documents, within a transaction and assign individual retention policies on each document to be transferred. Assignment of documents has been greatly simplified, whether using the Command Center user interface or through embedding eCore in the user’s application using our published web services interfaces.
Integrated Electronic Signatures. The eOriginal SmartSign® electronic signature component of eCore has been enhanced to enable rapid integration and deployment within web applications. SmartSign™ signature templates automatically create executable, “ready for signature” documents. The system enables users to upload documents from a local or networked file system, set or change document sort orders, sent email invitations and track progress throughout the process.
SmartSign captures the entire signature process from document generation through the capture of all signatures. The solution complies with the rules of state and federal statues for consent and signature capture, logging each step in a detailed audit trail. Our server-side signing process ensures a trusted “closed system” that has been approved by customer internal and third-party legal counsel. Signed documents are automatically tamper-sealed by eCore in the integrated document compliance repository. Signers are able to save or print a copy of their signed documents, and customers can receive a notification email with a watermarked electronic copy of the signed document – which can be also be routed for inclusion in existing imaging, back-office archival or servicing systems.
We here at eOriginal would like to welcome everyone to our newly created blog, ever so cleverly titled eOriginal blog. Creating this blog is just one of the many new developments taking place at eOriginal. Since we are constantly updating and improving our product features and functionality, we thought what better way would there be than to create a blog to keep everyone up to date on what’s going on inside the Warehouse at Camden Yards (eOriginal’s HQ).
Our aim with this our blog is to not only inform our readers but to also educate individuals and companies on how to get the most out of their electronic signature solution. We want to provide our readers with the best tips, tools and advice so they can maximize their ROI, increase profits, and do so by leveraging their electronic signature software by the most efficient means possible.
We have great people here with an abundance of experience, whose backgrounds range across all spectrums of business, technical, and legal affairs. Each member of our team will bring something a little different to the table sharing their expertise so our readers will have the best resources at hand.
Also, we are very open to suggestions and comments so if there is anything you would like us to comment or write about please let us know and we’ll be happy to share our thoughts.
We would like to announce our eSign TV video series. The video below is the first in a series designed to easily and quickly give visitors an overview of our products, services, and cost saving abilities.
Be on the lookout for additional videos and please let us know if there is a specific subject you would like us to cover.
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