Montreal, QC, May 6, 2010 - Silanis Technology today announced new SMS text authentication and voice authentication features for itsApproveIt Web Server e-signature process management solution. The new capabilities provide an extra layer of security for in-person, click-to-sign processes, while eliminating the need to purchase costly hardware devices for representatives or agents. “Proving that a customer has electronically signed a document can actually be more challenging in a point-of-sale environment than it is over the Web,” said Tommy Petrogiannis, CEO and co-founder of Silanis.In a self-serve, Web-based transaction, customers log into the application using their personal credentials and are in sole control of when and what documents they sign, explains Petrogiannis. This is not the case when processes take place in-person because service representatives and agents must share their laptop or desktop computer with customers, raising the question who actually e-signed – the customer or the representative?Up until now, the only way to get around this problem was to equip every point-of-sale with a costly hardware device, like the ones that are used by many courier companies today, to capture customer’s handwritten signatures electronically.“In our experience, organizations are reluctant to assume the cost of buying, deploying and managing signature capture pads,” said Petrogiannis. “ApproveIt Web Server’s new SMS and voice authentication features solve the problem by providing additional, software-based methods for identifying users in electronic transactions.” With SMS text authentication, the representative enters the customer’s mobile phone number prior to e-signing. A unique PIN is then automatically generated by the application and sent to the customer’s cell phone as a text message. The agent hands over their computer to the customer who then must enter the unique, one-time password in order to continue the e-signing process.The voice authentication feature, on the other hand, displays a Web page that prompts the customer to record a verbal statement that he or she has reviewed all documents and agreed to the contract terms. Once the voice statement is captured, the customer then ’clicks-to-sign’ using their mouse.ApproveIt Web Server captures the authentication processes as part of the Electronic Evidence™, along with the entire application review and signing process, to produce stronger evidence than is possible on paper. This includes all of the Web pages that were displayed to customers, how long they spend on each page, and everything that they clicked on, agreed to, and signed.
The signed documents and Electronic Evidence are then secured with digital signature technology to ensure that no changes can be made without visibility invalidating the electronic signatures. The strong Electronic Evidence captured by the solution helps to reduce the risk of fraud or repudiation.
“ApproveIt Web Server strikes the right balance between security, ease-of-use, and affordability,” said Tommy Petrogiannis.
“It provides a robust and elegant solution that passes the most stringent requirements of an organization’s legal and compliance teams, while addressing budget constraints for rolling out e-signatures in a face-to-face environment and giving customers the peace-of-mind that they are participating in a secure electronic process.”
About Silanis
Silanis Technology Inc. is the leading provider of Electronic Signature Process Management solutions. The world’s largest insurance and financial services companies, major government agencies, integrators and service providers depend on Silanis to accelerate business transactions and reduce costs while improving compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. The company’s electronic signature platform, ApproveIt®, is an enterprise-class e-signature process management solution that transforms paper-based business transactions to all-electronic, Web-based processes for e-commerce and e-government.
