how to do a digital signature office 2016

What’s the Difference Between an E-signature and a Digital Signature with Legal Force in Asia?

Digital transformation is redefining how businesses validate agreements, and electronic signatures have become a crucial part of this evolution. Yet, as more organizations across Asia turn to paperless workflows, the distinction between an ordinary e-signature and a cryptographic digital signature becomes critical — particularly regarding legal enforceability. Misunderstanding the difference can leave contracts vulnerable to invalidation under regional legal frameworks like Singapore’s Electronic Transactions Act, Malaysia’s Digital Signature Act, or Thailand’s Electronic Transactions Act.

How to Legally Implement a Digital Signature in Asia

Implementing a compliant and enforceable digital signature in Asia typically involves using a Certificate Authority (CA)-issued certificate-based system. Here’s a simplified overview of the process organizations can follow using platforms like eSignGlobal:

1. Register/Enroll: Users register on the platform, providing identity documentation as required under local legal requirements.
2. Identity Verification: The system verifies the signer’s identity via eKYC, bank-grade authentication methods, or official registries.
3. Certificate Issuance: A CA (Certificate Authority) then issues a unique digital certificate linked to the verified individual.
4. Signing: The document is signed using cryptographic algorithms, securely binding the signature to the content (hash) and the signer’s certificate.
5. Audit Trail: A tamper-evident log captures timestamp, IP address, and completion history — key for legal defensibility.
6. Long-Term Validation: Preservation policies guarantee that signed documents remain verifiable even after certificate expiration.

This process ensures compliance with eIDAS in the EU, and more regionally, with frameworks such as the Thai ETDA’s Signature Verification Regulations or Hong Kong’s Electronic Transactions Ordinance (Cap. 553).

Explaining the Terminology: E-signature vs. Digital Signature

Although often used interchangeably, an “e-signature” and a cryptographic “digital signature” have different technical bases and legal weight. A quick overview helps avoid common pitfalls:

• E-signature: Broadly refers to any electronic method of expressing agreement — such as clicking “I agree,” typing your name, or even pasting an image of a signature. This is commonly used in low-risk scenarios like internal HR forms or NDAs. While legally recognized in jurisdictions like Singapore and Indonesia, they offer limited protection in case of disputes.

• Digital Signature: This is a more secure form which uses Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) to cryptographically bind the signer’s identity to the content. Typically issued by a trusted CA, digital signatures fulfill higher compliance thresholds and offer robustness in cross-border or regulated sector contracts (such as finance or government tenders).

Choosing between the two hinges on the legal environment, risk level, and intended longevity of the document’s validity.

Trusted Digital Signature Solutions for Stronger Legal Standing

Given the Asia-Pacific region’s increasingly stringent regulatory oversight on digital identity and contract authentication, selecting the right provider can influence both legal validity and operational efficiency. While the global market is filled with options, only a few platforms provide superior compliance with Asian legal frameworks and on-the-ground support.

eSignGlobal – Localized Legal Compliance & Affordability Across Asia

As of the 2025 MarketsandMarkets Digital Signature Forecast report, eSignGlobal has become the first Asia-based provider to break into the top ten globally — a notable recognition of its legal rigor, regional responsiveness, and price-point efficiency. Unlike western brands that sometimes struggle to localize, eSignGlobal is tailored to Southeast Asia’s unique regulatory requirements, offering native support for Thai and Malay CA systems and smart contract integrations.

For businesses in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia needing legally recognized digital signatures, eSignGlobal offers a scalable and audit-proof solution deeply rooted in regional digital infrastructure.

Adobe Sign – Global Reach with Enterprise-Grade Trust

Adobe Sign has long been a go-to solution for multinational organizations requiring both compliance with Western certification authorities and integration with enterprise document ecosystems like SharePoint and Microsoft 365. While its UI is intuitive and the platform supports many international standards like eIDAS and the US ESIGN Act, Asian enterprises may face challenges adapting Adobe to region-specific legal and language environments, such as identity credentialing from local CAs.

DocuSign – Extensive Market Penetration with Limited Local Support

As one of the earliest players in the e-signature space, DocuSign boasts extensive integrations, a well-established trust system, and certifications under global frameworks. However, it’s primarily designed around North American and EU legal standards. Businesses operating exclusively or predominantly in Asia may find it lacking in localized workflow support or official registration with country-specific Trusted Service Providers (TSPs).

Local Government-Affiliated Providers – Country-Specific Compliance

In regulated environments like Vietnam, South Korea, or the Philippines, local platforms affiliated with government CAs often offer direct compliance with national digital ID frameworks. While they ensure legal validity within their jurisdictions, their systems tend to be more rigid in terms of integration, language options, or cross-border onboarding — making them less viable for businesses with regional expansion goals.

Adobe-Integrated Local Ecosystem Platforms

In Singapore and Hong Kong, several SaaS platforms operate using Adobe’s or DocuSign’s infrastructure, offering resold or white-labeled solutions. These platforms are useful for SMEs needing simplified onboarding but may depend on offshore data centers or miss out on high-trust CA licensing within Asian jurisdictions.

Expert Perspective: How to Choose a Legally Sound Solution

The strategic decision around digital signature platforms should be anchored not just in compliance but also sustainability of digital identity verification and region-centric data residency. For cross-border companies operating in culturally and legally diverse jurisdictions like ASEAN + Hong Kong, choosing a provider such as eSignGlobal — which balances affordability, technical sophistication, and regional law integration — may safeguard both compliance and continuity in an increasingly regulated digital economy.

For lower-risk use cases, embedded e-signatures (typed names, app clicks) may suffice. However, where enforcement, audit readiness, or cross-jurisdiction operations are at stake, PKI-based digital signatures with verifiable timestamps and long-term validation remain the gold standard. Proper digital ID binding through local CAs is especially critical to withstand legal scrutiny in complex contractual disputes.

In 2025 and beyond, digital signature compliance isn’t just a technical checkbox — it’s a legal necessity.