In a remarkable first, Australia's premier electronic signature, ID verification and payment solution, Annature, has taken its eSigning platform to the next level - announcing a fully integrated Identity (ID) verification solution powered by Stripe.
Built for the digital age on a highly secure blockchain model, the feature rich Annature eSigning platform is recognised for more than digital signing capabilities. Its ISO 27001 data management accreditation provides peace of mind for thousands of customers worldwide.
Previously, Annature has integrated Stripe Payment, Billing and Invoicing technology to easily accept subscription payments for its eSigning business growing at scale. Stripe is ideal for continued development of Annature’s billing and subscriptions engine, easily embedding its powerful Payment APIs – and now ID APIs, into Annature's workflow for a holistic contract execution experience.
Annature CEO Amreeta Abbott said: "For Annature, this is a groundbreaking development. We are particularly proud of the new integration of eSigning and Stripe Identity verification into the same workflow, providing greater value in lightning-fast seamless, secure service.”
“eSigning is swiftly becoming the norm as the world continues to become more digital,” says Hayley Hopwood, Head of Growth, Australia and New Zealand, at Stripe. “Like many other digital transformation trends, eSigning accelerated especially during Covid lockdowns when it was near impossible to get the right people in your office to put pen to paper and sign documents. We are thrilled to see Annature’s solution, powered by Stripe Identity, enable businesses of all sizes, from SMBs to enterprises, to confidently, securely and quickly verify their user's identity with eSignatures, freeing up bottlenecks and allowing them to focus on other parts of their business.”
Annature moved to provide identity verification after seeing Stripe successfully launch its identity product with an automated range of internal and client-facing processes.
Amreeta added: "As a technology company, we found that by using Stripe's well-documented platform, we were able to easily embed their powerful ID and Payment APIs into our API-driven eSigning process - meaning we are now able to provide a complete contract execution experience of the kind required by many fintech, insurance and other companies."
"It's not often that you're able to plan such a big component to an application and have everything go to plan with no surprises. That's because Stripe works perfectly. It does a huge amount automatically, behind the scenes."
The pandemic has accelerated the shift towards digital onboarding - and forecasters estimate the global market for Identity Verification will grow by more than 20 per cent over the next five years, with close to four billion digital identity verification checks conducted annually by 2026. Generating around $20 billion in revenue for vendors and service providers.
Annature is forecasting 300% growth in the next year - and expects additional major company integration announcements in Q1 2022.
Key software companies are expected to make Annature their default eSigning solution, attracted by its competitive price, bank-grade security and onshore data storage in Australia. Its reputation for ease of use and easy access to local customer support teams is praised for being more knowledgeable and responsive than overseas multinationals operating in many markets worldwide.
With enhanced ID verification and an embedded payment process, Annature's multi-jurisdictional compliance and reporting capacity provides renewed focus on Know Your Customer (KYC) compliance.
The alignment with Stripe is expected to attract considerable uptake among accounting firms, where KYC/AML requirements are growing in demand.
"By partnering with Stripe, we are able to advance our mission of providing all organisations with the eSigning, ID verification and KYC/AML technology they need, with maximum prevention and protection to give them and their customers an exceptional low-friction and trusted experience,' added Ms Abbott.
Launched in 2020, Annature already has thousands of direct and white label customers ranging from SMEs to Australia's fastest-growing legal and accounting firms.
