Digital signature use surges amidst pandemic: study

In the past six months, 53% have signed digitally for the first time.

Young people have been driving the surge in digital document and e-signature use, with more than six in 10 Millennial APAC respondents saying they e-signed more documents in the past six months, research from multinational computer software Adobe revealed.

Overall, more than three out of four respondents cited adoption of e-signatures into documents, with 53% claiming they e-signed for the first time last year.

Interestingly, whilst business contracts were the most popular document to be e-signed in India (77%), it was less common to e-sign them in Singapore (57%).

The most e-signed documents in Singapore were insurance policies at 81%.

“Whilst the shift from paper to digital has been underway since PDF was introduced more than 30 years ago, 2020 was a tipping point,” Simon Dale, managing director of Adobe Southeast Asia, said. “Digital documents have become the currency of business productivity—the centerpiece for how businesses, governments and consumers communicate, collaborate. and transact, thereby setting the agenda for the future economy.”

Meanwhile, APAC respondents expressed wishes for companies (82%) and governments (78%) to offer more documents with digital signatures. Concurrently, a majority (73%) believed companies lacking e-signature options were “behind in the times.”

The Adobe Digital Insights survey polled over 1,000 respondents from APAC.