Let’s make this article short.

Yes.

Oh, you wanted an explanation? That is entirely fair.

When we talk signatures, we’re talking about a way to verify that a person agrees with or acknowledges some form of text. There are three different ways you can currently sign a document – via a wet signature, an electronic signature, or a digital signature.

Before diving into which is better, we first need to get our heads around how they differ.

Types of Signatures

A wet signature is that one that you painstakingly designed with a pen when you were young. Often a stylish, cursive representation of one’s name, a wet signature is the oldest form of document verification. ‘Wet’ simply refers to the fact that this physical, ink on paper signature needs time to dry.

An electronic signature is, using its most generalised definition, a way to acknowledge receipt of an electronic message. This can take the form of a typed name at the end of an email, a bank card PIN, clicking ‘Agree’ to online terms and conditions, or even a faxed version of a wet signature.

Finally, a digital signature is still entirely electronic but has the added bonus of being cryptographic. This means that it is sent securely between two parties (which will be alerted if it has been at all tampered with), and will come with some form of a certificate of authority.

So, Which is Best?

Wet signatures have a long and storied history. Prior to the digital age, they were really the only way personally authenticate anything. And they do present themselves as a simple, beautiful solution to this authentication problem.

Simplicity and beauty are one thing, effectiveness and security are entirely another.

As any high school student who has faked their mother’s signature on a sick note will tell you, wet signatures are hideously insecure. Anyone, if they spend 30 minutes of their time practising, can recreate another person’s wet signature with respectable accuracy.

In reality, electronic signatures aren’t usually much better. The integrity of the system still rests on an element of trust. The website that is asking the user to click ‘agree’ is assuming that the right person is sitting on the other side of the screen. The person who receives an email signature is assuming that the person who sent it is who they say they are. Banks are assuming that their customers have taken steps to keep their PIN private.

The most secure? A digital signature. Digital signatures, such as those provided by realforms, offer the most high-level security of all the signature options. There is a certificate of authority. There is the use of both public and private encryption keys. There are measures in place to alert both the sender and receiver if the authenticity of the document has been compromised.

It’s as foolproof a signature system as you can hope for without the use of personal hardware.

If you’re looking for true security in your business and personal dealings, talking with realforms about digital signatures is a step in the right direction.

It’s time to forget the wet.

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