E-signature may take years before people are comfortable with it

The much-lauded e-signature law will do little to change prevailing business practices and would take many months, if not years, before companies and consumers warm up to the technology, according to banking professionals. The law, which went into effect in the middle of last month, gives electronically signed documents sent over the Web the same legal status as written documents. Companies are beginning to slowly draft e-signature strategies and purchase the necessary technology, called public key infrastructure (PKI), that would allow them to comply with the law. "This will not be a spectacular change from day to day," said Radosław Ilczuk, the secretary of the management board of Centrast, a company created by a consortium of banks to maintain secure electronic transactions. "(That's) because the changes that the bill introduces are very important, but they are subtle. (Before the law), there were only some electronic transactions that you could not do from the legal point of view." Banking customers have been able to perform secure transactions over the Internet, so consumers will not notice much of a change from the convenience provided. In any event, however, companies are deliberating over what the law means for their business.

"We have (e-signatures) in our plans, but we are still reviewing our (options)," said Piotr Białkowski, a director in Bank Pekao's IT department. "We are analyzing the law and our preferences. It's important." He also noted that Bank Pekao was undecided on just when e-signatures would become an integrated part of its business. It is this sluggish approach that has led analysts to believe that it could take as long as three years before e-signatures would be popular in Poland. And it is not only companies that are deciding on strategies. The Economy Ministry is at present deciding which company would be the "root certification authority," an entity that verifies and certifies the identity of the person who sends a document that includes an e-signature. People familiar with the discussions expect the mandate to be awarded to Centrast. "We are very well prepared for this, and I don't see a reason why it would not go to Centrast," Centrast's Ilczuk said. But even if the status of root certification authority is awarded to another company, Centrast said it is well-positioned to offer services. "I do not foresee such a possibility, but we are prepared, and our IT system is prepared to offer other services concerning or dealing with electronic transactions," Ilczuk said.