How Cederquist is using remote identity verification to keep business moving

The ability to verify a person’s identity is central to the way everyday transactions are done. The pandemic has meant that it is more important now than ever to be able to conduct business digitally. Cederquist is one of Sweden’s leading full service law firms and has been carrying Sweden’s legal sector into the future, with the help of DocuSign.

We were eager to understand the firm's journey of adopting ID Verification, so Dominika Zemberova, Account Executive at DocuSign caught up with Johannes Farje, Head of Digital Services and Innovation. They spoke (virtually) about the automation of complex agreement processes with electronic signatures and online ID verification.

Q: How accepted is electronic signing in the Nordics?

Electronic signing is widely accepted and increasing in use in the Nordic region – especially now during these times. The main problem is in relation to traditional forms requiring a handwritten signature such as governmental forms where a wet ink original copy is mandatory. 

Q: Tell us a bit about how you use electronic signature and ID Verification?

Cederquist uses these solutions in two ways. The main internal use is in the HR department – for sign-offs, minutes from board meetings and so on.

It is also used in day-to-day business with clients. Cederquist acts as a facilitator to different types of transactions and uses ID Verification when it’s either requested (when parties don’t have trust with each other) or required (when there is an eIDAS advanced signature requirement). 

Q: What benefits/impacts did digitisation have on your business?

My role would not exist without the digitisation of the legal sector. It allows us to focus on the more important parts of being a lawyer rather than administrative tasks. 

“When I started as a junior executive I was sent on rounds picking up hand-written signatures from different people in Stockholm. I don’t have to do that anymore because of DocuSign.”

Q: COVID-19 has meant that businesses have had to adapt and digitise their business. Did Cederquist’s previous digitisation mean that you were more prepared for some of this? 

In terms of preparation, Cederquist had a thorough conversation about digitisation within the organisation so that everyone understood what they wanted and needed to do – and what areas could be digitised. 

Cederquist employees began working from home early when COVID-19 hit – the fact that processes had already been digitised made this easier.

The primary purpose of digitisation for Cederquist is to benefit its employees and its customers – this is done by investigating what processes can be digitised and using those as the example of building a better day-to-day business. 

 Q: What would you say is next for Cederquist in further digitising your processes?

In terms of more practical things, we are looking at more integrations using DocuSign APIs and working to get wider acceptance for electronic signatures – we have ongoing conversations with the Swedish Registrations Office to get things handled more seamlessly and digitally. 

Q: Finally do you have any recommendations for those considering digitisation on how to best get started?

The best starting point for digitisation is understanding your organisation's needs and knowing what kind of data-transactions can be managed in an easier way – pinpointing what processes can be done better and easier. 

Understand your needs and go where you can make an impact. Get started with electronic signatures. Digital ID Verification is an added feature that can solve the challenge where the parties may not know each other well to build trust. It could also enable you to meet stricter requirements on signer identification mandated by regulation. 

ID Verification enables you to choose from several enhanced ID options including verifying government-issued IDs or verify identity with Swedish BankID along with other Nordic eIDs. This streamlines the eSignature process, reduces risk, and maintains compliance.

Read the full Cederquist case study or watch the full on demand webinar: Authenticate Signers' ID Digitally For Faster And More Secure Agreements.