Trust in the digital world

Helvetia first introduced the e-signature solution in spring 2020, around two years after Skribble was founded, and has since been enabling customers in the occupational pensions segment to sign electronically. In Specialty Markets too, Helvetia has been relying on electronic signatures for some time now and at the end of last year decided to switch to Skribble as its preferred solution.

4,300 digital signatures in a single quarter

David Ribeaud, CEO Specialty Markets at Helvetia, knows how important it is nowadays to have the option of a digital, legally valid signature. “Most of our customers want to handle business entirely electronically. The Skribble solution enables us to serve our customers quickly and easily, whether in the office, out and about or from home,” he explains. The figures also show a trend towards using the e-signature solution: in the first quarter of 2021, over 4,300 documents were signed electronically in Specialty Markets at Helvetia. And consideration is already being given to an add-on to the solution that is intended to allow employees to handle the process on their smartphones as well. This would be possible with Skribble, as the start-up’s solution supports all terminal devices.

The future of e-signing

The start-up Skribble has a clear vision: it wants businesses to be able to sign any document electronically in a matter of seconds, in any jurisdiction and with any stakeholder – in a legally compliant manner and in accordance with the strictest data protection requirements. The same goes for contracts where the law requires written form, i.e. the signature is traditionally provided on paper. In pursuit of that goal, the fledgling enterprise is focusing entirely on further developing and perfecting e-signing.

Pandemic as an accelerator

The people at Skribble are convinced that, over the medium term, electronic signatures will fully replace handwritten signatures in the business domain. The trend in Skribble’s user numbers points in a similar direction: since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in spring 2020, the number of Skribble users has increased more than tenfold. Philipp Dick, co-founder and CEO of Skribble, is proud of the fact that the e-signature solution has been a real help in the pandemic especially. In many places, he says, signing documents is one of the few circumstances that still “forces” employees to come into the office. Skribble’s online solution has legal validity worldwide and meets the highest security standards in the EU and Switzerland. Thus, business processes that require a signature can also be handled easily without any personal contact. In the video, Skribble shows how the solution works.

Expansion across the German-speaking countries

Skribble is currently undergoing strong growth throughout the German-speaking countries and can count, among other things, on tips and insights from the Helvetia Venture Fund. The latter supports fledgling enterprises by acting as a mentor, especially when it comes to growth. With regard to the collaboration, CEO Philipp Dick talks of “a targeted push combined with an understanding of business” – i.e. what one wants from an investor.