Notarize announced Wednesday that it will now allow independent notaries – of which there are 4.4 million in the U.S. – to utilize its software and platform for their own independent transactions.
The software will be available to notaries in Washington and Tennessee in May and Notarize officials said the other 29 RON-approved states will have access by the end of the summer.
Once a notary creates an account with Notarize, they are supplied with a Notary training program and support while using RON transactions.
“In 2020, we saw the need for digital tools that allow business and life to keep moving forward safely and securely, and we know that’s what notaries need now, and into the future,” said Ashley Spiess, Notarize senior director of operations and strategy. “The 4.4 million notaries in the U.S. are some of the most entrepreneurial, driven and diligent professionals in the country, and in-line with that, notaries are constantly looking for ways to expand their business, self-market, grow their income and build and strengthen preferred partnerships.”
Notarize estimates that there are 1.25 billion notarizations completed every year – including powers of attorney, beneficiary designations, real estate transactions and mortgages. More than 100 million notarizations require a seal and a signature each month.
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Work-from-home quickly became the national norm as businesses across the country shut down due to health concerns. The sudden drop in face-to-face communication caused many in the housing industry to rethink how they conduct business. Notarize officials said the COVID-19 outbreak “drove a spike” in notarization requests.
“As communities across the country commit to social distancing, it’s leaving many of the nation’s professional notaries unable to meet in-person – and therefore, out of work,” said Pat Kinsel, Notarize CEO. “The only safe option is to conduct these notarizations online. The notarial process, rooted in face-to-face interaction for hundreds of years, cannot function amidst a life-threatening pandemic.”
Kinsel said in December that Notarize saw 600% growth in 2020, highlighting the increasing demand for the social distancing-friendly technology. In October, FinLedger reported that it formed a partnership with Adobe to integrate Notarize’s RON capability into Adobe Sign, Adobe’s e-signature platform.
Kinsel said the proverbial genie is out of the bottle for digital transformation.
“There’s no going back to the manual, slow, in-person ways of the past when RON closes the ‘last mile’ of many transactions and saves people time and money, all while offering elevated security and fraud protection,” he said. “Almost every business has been forced to redesign every customer interaction. It’s no longer possible for someone to safely pop in to sign something. If the industry can continue to reimagine how they serve their clients and rewire how they work, RON should and will be further implemented.“
