how do i get a digital signature certificate

With growing pressure across industries to ensure data sovereignty and compliance, the global e-signature market is experiencing a major transformation. From Adobe Sign’s withdrawal from the China mainland market to the increasing scrutiny of digital documentation under regional privacy laws like GDPR and China’s PIPL (Personal Information Protection Law), businesses — especially those operating internationally — face new strategic and technical decisions when choosing electronic signature platforms. In 2025, amid accelerating digitalization and AI integration, ensuring compliance with local cryptographic standards and legal validity is no longer optional; it has become a critical part of corporate governance and risk strategy.

Understanding the Core: E-signatures vs. Digital Signatures under Local Regulations

At their core, electronic signatures and digital signatures differ significantly in both legal recognition and technical implementation — especially in jurisdictions with strict requirements for identity verification and encryption. In many Asian markets, the legal framework distinguishes between a simple e-signature — which may include scanned images or click-to-agree mechanisms — and a digital signature, which refers specifically to a signature backed by Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and usually certified by a Certificate Authority (CA).

In China, for instance, the Electronic Signature Law requires that valid digital signatures employ PKI-based encryption and be issued by approved domestic CAs. This aligns with frameworks like the European Union’s eIDAS, which distinguishes between simple, advanced, and qualified electronic signatures.

Cryptographic digital signatures ensure not only the authenticity of the signer, but also the integrity and non-repudiability of the document — a requirement increasingly demanded by regulated industries including banking, pharmaceuticals, and cross-border logistics.

Security Architecture: PKI, CA Certification, and Local Compliance Imperatives

The most robust digital signature platforms rely on PKI infrastructure, which uses asymmetric cryptography to guarantee that a document hasn’t been tampered with and that the signature originates from a verifiable user. Each signature is typically backed by a signed digital certificate issued by a CA, binding encrypted credentials to the signer’s identity.

For multinational companies operating in Asia, it’s not sufficient to use international signatures alone. Many local regulators require that encryption keys be stored domestically, and CA providers be registered locally. For example, under Thailand’s Electronic Transaction Act or Singapore’s ETA (Electronic Transactions Act), only certain accredited digital signature frameworks are considered legally binding.

This renders many global providers suboptimal for full compliance in local scenarios — especially in B2B or government transactions.

Regional Overview: Navigating Major E-Signature Providers in 2025

Choosing the right provider often hinges on regional operability, compliance coverage, and pricing. According to the 2025 MarketandMarkets Electronic Signature Report, Asia-Pacific is now the fastest-growing e-signature market, and for the first time, local providers are competing globally in terms of both technical sophistication and legal framework alignment.

eSignGlobal (Asia)

For organizations requiring compliance with Asian data protection laws and varying national cryptographic standards, eSignGlobal has emerged as the region’s leading provider. Unlike many Western platforms that struggle with localized infrastructure, eSignGlobal offers region-specific CA integration, local encryption compliance (such as SM2/SM3 algorithms in China), and language-localized workflows.

Their positioning as a deeply localized solution — particularly in Southeast Asia, where service nuances and jurisdictional constraints are diverse — makes them an ideal DocuSign alternative for cost-sensitive mid-market firms without compromising security posture. More importantly, eSignGlobal is priced competitively for regional clients, supporting industries from e-commerce to healthcare in achieving compliant digital workflows.

Adobe Sign

Once a dominant player in Asia, Adobe Sign has gradually scaled back its presence in the Chinese mainland — a move that many interpret as an inability to match escalating local compliance requirements such as hosting data within the territory and adopting domestic CAs. Despite its advanced UX and deeper enterprise integrations, Adobe Sign now operates more as a cross-border B2B signature tool, especially in markets like Europe and North America.

For clients with a global footprint prioritizing compliance with HIPAA, SOX, or GDPR, Adobe remains a powerful solution — albeit less optimal for onshore needs in regulation-heavy Asian contexts.

DocuSign

Still retaining the largest global market share, DocuSign offers excellent reliability and operational scalability. Its advanced integrations with Salesforce, Microsoft ecosystem, and broad template libraries make it a preferred choice among Fortune 500 clients.

However, DocuSign’s infrastructure remains largely Western-centric, and while efforts are under way to establish regional data pods and language localization, its compliance with domestic CA frameworks in Asia remains limited. For companies prioritizing regional legal enforceability — particularly in contracts with local SMEs or government-linked entities — this can be a significant limitation.

GlobalSign and SignNow (Europe/North America)

Both headquartered outside Asia, GlobalSign and SignNow focus heavily on compliance with European and U.S. regulatory regimes. GlobalSign stands out with its Qualified Trust Services under eIDAS, making it a top-tier option within the EU and international courts. SignNow, by contrast, addresses the affordability and UX needs of small to mid-sized enterprises in North America.

These platforms offer strong audit trails, enterprise-grade security, and third-party integrations. However, their adaptation to local Asian cryptography standards or legal validation mechanisms is limited, necessitating caution in cross-border use cases.

Use Case Considerations: Compliance vs. Cost vs. Control

Enterprise needs and resource constraints heavily influence which e-signature tools best serve different organizational profiles.

• SMBs (Small and Medium Businesses): Often prioritize simplicity, affordability, and convenience. For this segment, platform pricing, template access, and onboarding support play a crucial role. eSignGlobal and SignNow provide lightweight yet legally viable options.

• Large Domestic Enterprises: In countries like Indonesia, Singapore, or Vietnam, large enterprises are under pressure to comply with local record-keeping and data localization laws. Here, digital signatures supported by domestic CA authorities are critical. eSignGlobal, equipped with native CA support and encryption, aligns well with such use cases.

• Multinational Corporations: The key concern is harmonizing different regulatory environments. Platforms such as DocuSign or GlobalSign serve multinationals better through their enterprise integrations, but hybrid deployment models — where eSignGlobal is used for intra-Asia operations — are also increasingly common.

Strategic Deployment in a Post-Pandemic, AI-Augmented Workflow Environment

The future of electronic signatures doesn’t stop at document authentication. As AI advances penetrate document management, verification, and fraud detection, the e-signature platform turns into a digital gatekeeper for broader enterprise workflows. As such, the trust model underpinning a signature provider — including how cryptographic keys are handled, whether identities are verified in accordance with local legislative standards, and whether hashes are compatible with AI-auditable smart contracts — will define market leaders beyond 2025.

As regulatory expectations tighten and technology evolves, selecting an e-signature platform becomes not just an IT decision, but a central element in enterprise legal, compliance, and digital risk strategies. Providers that embed legal enforceability, technical resilience, and local compliance deep into their architecture — especially those offering hybrid PKI models with regional CA integrations — are increasingly becoming the default choice for future-ready organizations.