Sparebank 1

​”While working on the digitalisation of our banking services, it became clear to SpareBank 1 over time that we would also need to improve the efficiency of our digital document signature process,” explains Chief Advisor for Data security Liv Berg-Hanssen from SpareBank 1. ”Not least in order to control all the different signatures and keep them in the correct order in contractual documents. Nets’ electronic signature systems help solve such problems by allowing several persons to sign one document as one signature process, irrespective of geographical region – and in addition by controlling the order of signatures in the document.”​

”For that reason, Nets was a natural choice for us among the different providers of signature systems. Their signature and identity services, which include functions such as multisignatures, were the perfect solution to our problems,” explains Liv Berg-Hanssen.

Today, SpareBank 1 makes use of Nets’ systems which support the majority of functions within the digitalisation of banking processes related to document signature; from simple signature to complex processes involving multiple parties.

As they no longer have to physically dispatch documents for signature and can therefore reduce the amount of time spent on the signature process, SpareBank 1 can achieve significant savings. One example of system functionality is eSigning, when several parties have to sign an agreement and the system allows you to determine who has to sign the agreement and the order in which signature should take place. The parties involved are notified when the agreement is ready for signature and all parties are provided with one-time access to the document.

The system is extremely secure and includes a unique yet simple-to-use traceability function in the form of electronic archiving. It is the perfect system for all organisations with a comprehensive requirement for legally binding documents.

Nets is a natural partner

”We found that it was becoming both time-consuming and costly to develop our own systems and had to go out onto the market to find a partner who had the necessary level of expertise both in terms of strategy and product range. Nets is already a major supplier to the Norwegian financial industry and that in itself is a good reason for choosing them as partner. And although we try to avoid being committed to one sole supplier in terms of expertise, systems and functionality in addition to price, there is no doubt that Nets is a flexible supplier and has a lot of expertise within signature systems.”

We now have systems we can implement throughout the entire group of companies

”Nets currently provides expertise, a complete product range and business development. It may be difficult to quantify the outcome of choosing Nets as partner, but we can say that it is extremely important for us as a financial corporation to make use of all the Nets systems throughout all our different business units.”

Standing strong to face future challenges

”With one of the largest groups in Europe within electronic security and digital identity, Nets is fully able to deliver state-of-the-art  technology and systems, and to continue working on development over the years to come; particularly within eSecurity,” says Liv Berg-Hanssen. ”Nets’ systems for eSecurity are critically important and interlinked – for example, services for signature and identity fully interact with the BankAxess payment service. Nets’ eSecurity services pave the way for digital business processes such as BankID in Norway. These services are provided and operated by Nets, and thousands of SpareBank 1 customers, together with several million Norwegians, make use of and trust these services from day to day.

In closing, I’d like to mention that we are currently holding constructive discussions on items such as the relationship between technology and user experience. In our opinion, it is now critical to improve the self-service systems.

In general, we have sufficient follow-up and a positive and helpful contact person at Nets. This is a decisive element for customer relationships,” concludes Liv Berg-Hanssen.

​SpareBank 1

SpareBank 1 Gruppen is the second largest financial corporation in Norway and is recognised as a national savings bank. SpareBank 1 supplies a complete range of financial products and services to both private individuals and the corporate market. SpareBank 1 aims to be recognised as a bank which is close to its customers, with local roots and high expertise.

SpareBank 1 Gruppen is owned by SpareBank 1 SR-Bank, SpareBank 1 Nord-Norge, SpareBank 1 SMN, Sparebanken Hedmark, Samarbeidende Sparebanker AS, and the national organisation/trade union affiliated with the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO).