Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the world rushed to digitize and transactions that once happened in person were forced online. And while the housing market continued to surge amid these changes, some people were still hesitant to do business in a digital landscape and unsure how to navigate the litany of rules related to compliance and processes.
Technology has streamlined the real estate industry, but it has also left the industry confused on how to bring the myriad of regulations, documents and requirements together into a cohesive, simple and secure experience that benefits all parties involved.
The pioneer of remote online notarization (RON), Notarize is the first platform to enable individuals to sign and notarize documents online, 24/7. By integrating technology with live human interaction to establish identities, Notarize is able to digitally mirror the in-person notary experience and offer added digital identity proofing and authentication services.
“When buying, selling or refinancing a home, Notarize’s products and services bring trust to life and business’ most important moments and make them more convenient, secure and verifiable,” said CEO Pat Kinsel. “As a product and policy-led company, our goal is to build trust in a digital age through a protected online transaction. Once consumers, title agencies and lenders utilize RON and realize how compliant, secure, and streamlined the experience is, they never go back.”
RON is a fully-digital experience that mirrors the traditional notarial act and provides the same legal protections, but with enhanced security and fraud prevention. A signer verifies their identity and appears before a notary on a video call, and together they complete, sign and legally notarize the document. Each video session is recorded and retained along with an audit trail of the transaction.
Notaries use this technology to remotely obtain evidence of identity and communicate in real-time with signers. Signers can only connect to a commissioned notary once they’ve completed security measures, including personal identity challenge questions and credential analysis of their government-issued ID.
All documents notarized on the platform are digitally signed by the notary using a special x.509 digital certificate issued to the notary (after a rigorous identity security process). Once a notary’s digital certificate is applied to a document, it creates what’s called a digital “hash” which functions as a hidden record of all the bits and bytes comprising the document.
If any component of the document is later changed, the document will show that it has been changed after the digital signature was applied. This enables all users to confirm that they are looking at the original document as originally signed and notarized – and all digital originals are available immediately, reducing the need to print or ship stacks of documents.
“We’ve built proprietary technology that gives users — notaries and signers — access to this secure digital signing table where they’re getting the ease of what a digital-first service can provide, but with unrivaled safety and fraud-prevention,” stated CEO Pat Kinsel.
“Our application development team has extensive experience building bank-grade, highly secure software systems and the data is transmitted and stored using industry-best data security practices. We’ve also built software to comply with more than 14 million compliance and acceptance rules across the country to meet any of our customers’ requirements.”
There’s a shift happening in today’s society toward online services, but this convenience and efficiency shouldn’t come at the expense of anonymity and reduced trust. Notarize exists to solve this problem in real estate by creating trust and legal certainty, delivered efficiently at the speed of the internet.
“Notarize’s business has skyrocketed more than 600% since March 2020, and the company has seen rapid adoption of the platform, especially within the real estate ecosystem,” said Terri Davis, General Manager, Real Estate. “We work with thousands of organizations in the real estate industry who want to go fully digital while upholding the highest levels of security and identity verification available. The time for RON is now”
Pat Kinsel, Co-founder and CEO
Pat Kinsel leads Notarize, the first company making it possible to legally notarize documents online and on demand, allowing anyone to buy, sell or finance their home online.
Terri Davis, General Manager, Real Estate
Terri Davis leads Notarize’s efforts to empower the success of partners as the company digitizes processes and modernizes real estate.
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