In Case You Haven't Noticed...The 90's Are Over

So I decided to purchase a condo in downtown Cincinnati a few months ago and found myself engulfed by the overly cumbersome financing process.  It’s been a few years since I had been in the market, so I expected to jump through a few more hoops than were necessary. My expectations were reminiscent of ‘05 or ‘06… but little did I know we actually fell back into the 90’s. 

Like anyone with a busy life (isn’t that everyone these days), the thought of sitting down with my wife and signing a bunch of documents during the day is just not practical.  So when my lender asked us to sign the necessary disclosures, I opened up my laptop, browsed for the file and signed the docs electronically through DotLoop.  My wife did the same from wherever she was at the time and in just a few minutes this phase of the paperwork process was behind us… at least I thought that was the case.

Three days later, I received an email from the lender reading, “I’m sorry for the inconvenience, but I just found out that we don’t accept electronic signatures.”  My initial reaction was “Are you kidding me? Who doesn’t accept electronic signatures these days?”  After sending a friendly note reminding them that I just electronically signed when transferring funds online at my other bank (which involves actual money changing hands, not just a transaction involving disclosures that talk about money changing hands), it struck me that this lender wasn’t the only one stuck in the 90’s.  

I think it’s safe to say that the Internet isn’t a fad; but for whatever reason, several lenders apparently maintain this belief.  I make this statement because I can’t think of any other reason why you wouldn’t do business electronically.   If you ask a lender, their initial response would probably be that they are concerned with “security”.  Come on… if you were concerned with security, you wouldn’t maintain policies that encourage individuals to chicken scratch all over critical documents. Electronic signatures are better tracked and error proof than any other scalable signature solution in the history of mankind. 

Since the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act of 2000 was signed into law, most every industry has used electronic signatures as a safe, quick and legal alternative.  If Congress takes the steps to enact a law to recognize the legitimacy of electronic signatures, why shouldn’t a lender?

It begs the question, aren’t these institutions interested in keeping or acquiring customers?  If Institution A allows me to manage my finances in a manner that doesn’t get in the way of life’s other priorities (work, family, etc.), why would I choose to do business with Institution B that creates unnecessary burdens at every step in the process?  This isn’t rocket science. Everyone is busy and they want things to happen as quickly as possible.

Anyone who wants to challenge such a statement, would have to explain why smart phone sales have skyrocketed over the last few years, or why Apple sold approximately 15 millions iPads during their first three quarters following the product’s launch.  The world demands convenience; it’s the new status quo.    

Getting back to the 90’s… my wife and I finally had a chance to sit down and re-sign the disclosures on a Sunday afternoon, almost a week after they were originally eSigned.  Since most people under the age of thirty don’t even know how to use a fax machine, the disclosures won’t be delivered for another two days after being snail mailed through the USPS.  In case you haven’t been following along, that’s a delay of seven days on just one small phase of a much larger process, all because the lender can’t accept the fact that we’re out of the 90’s and that the Internet is here to stay. 

For all the lenders out there that know what it means to connect with your customer, your competitors have thrown in the towel and positioned you with an amazing opportunity to acquire market share.  Please tell us who you are because we will be glad to give you our business… we do appreciate convenience and security.