Electronic signature technology saves planner time

The heavy burden of paperwork may be eased for planners with the release of a new product that allows them to process electronic applications for investment products.

InvestmentLink’s i-Sign electronic signature technology is now available within lanXP’s financial planning software.

I-Sign enables planners using XPlan software to process paperless applications for managed funds directly to participating platforms and retail fund managers.

The technology captures client signatures electronically at the point of sale by an investor’s act of signing on a special pad that captures the biometric information unique to each signature.

The signature is encrypted and bound to the electronic application form, making it impossible to tamper with the form or the signature.

An adviser using XPlan and i-Sign can complete an application in under three minutes, compared to more than 40 minutes with hand-written applications, according to Peter Philip, InvestmentLink chief executive.

“The result for the client is more professional and avoids the delays and hassle of checks and paper forms,” he said.

An independent study has found the costs for advisers using the XPlan/Investment Link electronic application form is $10 per new application, compared to nearly $140 by for manually completed forms study.