EU electronic signature rules make some Lithuanian ID cards obsolete

Electronic signatures have become a widely accepted business tool, with as many as 88 percent of the top 100 firms investing in the technology. Companies such as IDNow and Foxit are launching new products while countries such as Lithuania are changing their identification document rules to accommodate new e-signature rules.

Lithuania is making sure its ID cards are compliant with the latest qualified electronic signature requirements in the European Union. This may, however, mean that many of the ID cards in the Baltic country will soon be obsolete.

According to the Lithuanian Ministry of Internal Affairs, identity cards issued before January 1st, 2024 will no longer be used to create a qualified electronic signature. The new rule kicks off on July 23rd this year.

The country made the decision after the EU tightened the security requirements for electronic signature creation devices in compliance with the latest standards and the European Parliament and Council Regulation No. 910/2014, regulating electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions.

According to the eIDAS regulation, e-signatures are legally equivalent to wet ink signatures in the EU.

IDnow launches new e-signature solutions

Identity verification company IDnow has launched two new e-signature products aimed at businesses that want to streamline tasks such as signing loan contracts and other documents.

E-signature product InstantSign relies on a reusable identity meaning that it can remove the obligation for a new identity verification before a Qualified Electronic Signature (QES) can be issued. This allows users who have already performed anti-money-laundering (AML) identity verification at onboarding to digitally sign contracts at a qualified level, the company says in a release.

“Eliminating the requirement for reverification by reusing an existing identification significantly streamlines the process of issuing a QES in an AML-compliant e-signing journey,” says Vikas Seth, Chief Product Officer at IDnow.

Another new product launched by the German company is eID eSign which relies on NFC technology to read documents. The product can currently be used with a German ID card, residence permit, or EU citizen card.

Foxit PDF launches new e-signature subscription

Popular PDF software maker Foxit has launched new e-signature subscription plans – one for individual users and entrepreneurs and one for organizations of all sizes.

eSign Essentials and eSign Business include settings for global compliance, simplified document tracking, automation, integrations with popular platforms such as Google, Microsoft and Zoom, payment collection, notary services and workflow tools.

The Fujian, China-headquartered company says its products are compliant with HIPAA, 21 CFR Type 11, FINRA, CCPA, FERPA, eIDAS, and GDPR. It also includes multi-factor authentication (MFA), knowledge-based authentication (KBA) and qualified electronic signatures (QES).

Article Topics

digital ID  |  electronic-signature  |  Foxit  |  identity verification  |  IDnow  |  KYC  |  reusable digital ID