Ensuring legal validity of electronic contracts with Smart eContract
Electronic contracts have revolutionized cross-border digital transactions by eliminating the delays associated with geographical distance and the physical transfer of paper documents. However, electronic contracts still present significant legal risks. Electronic contracts: Driving enterprise digital transformation In today’s highly competitive business environment, the ability to process work, handle paperwork, and sign contracts quickly is a significant competitive advantage. It streamlines operations, enhances customer satisfaction, and reduces costs. To improve organizational workflows, many businesses are adopting electronic contracts as a replacement for traditional paper-based contracts. Implementing electronic contracts offers numerous benefits, including significant cost savings on printing, shipping, and storage. Additionally, electronic contracts enable seamless approval and signing processes, anytime, anywhere, eliminating the need for physical meetings and wait times. Common risks associated with electronic contracts Despite their advantages, electronic contracts still present certain legal risks. These include: Smart eContract: Mitigating legal risks in electronic contracts With the ability to automate document creation, signing, storage, delivery, and retrieval, SAVIS eContract empowers organizations to build paperless electronic contracts quickly, cost-effectively, and securely. Every action taken on an electronic contract is tracked, ensuring content integrity, accurate identification of parties involved, and secure storage. Combined with timestamping and long-term validation technology (LTV), which is considered the most effective solution to prevent fraud and forgery in electronic transactions and ensure the legal validity of electronic documents, particularly contracts, parties to the agreement can use these documents as evidence in business and legal activities that require verification. Start your journey with a consultation – reach out to us today!
4 Key points to consider when choosing an electronic contract solutions
Electronic contracts are being increasingly adopted to meet the growing demand from businesses and organizations, gradually replacing traditional contracts. However, selecting the right electronic contract solution can be challenging. Below are four key criteria for choosing the best electronic contract solution. Criteria for Selecting an Electronic Contract Solution Compliance with Vietnamese Laws on Electronic Storage and Digital Signatures In Vietnam, the legal validity of electronic contracts is governed by the Law on Electronic Transactions of 2005 and Decree 52/2013/ND-CP. According to these regulations, an electronic contract must meet the following requirements: Additionally, the digital signatures used in electronic contracts must comply with the technical standards outlined in Vietnam’s laws, such as Decree 130/2018/ND-CP, Circular 16/2019/TT-BTTTT, Circular 06/2015/TT-BTTTT, and Circular 22/2020/TT-BTTTT regarding the mandatory standards for digital signatures and certification services. Provider capability Along with the contracting parties, a third party—the electronic contract solution provider—is essential. Therefore, it is crucial to choose a provider with the necessary technological capabilities and a solid reputation. Software quality Software quality is a critical factor when selecting an electronic contract solution. A high-quality solution should ensure: Suitability for the organization’s scale and needs To select the most appropriate solution, decision-makers must analyze their organization’s specific requirements and use cases. Depending on the scale, usage frequency, cost, security needs, and business integration demands, organizations may choose between an on-premise model or a cloud-based solution. Smart eContract: A Smart Electronic Contract Solution that Meets All Standards Developed by SAVIS, Smart eContract is designed to meet the digitalization and automation needs of organizations and businesses. It complies with all the requirements of a comprehensive electronic contract. As the top provider of digital signature services in Vietnam, SAVIS consistently pioneers innovative technologies and features that meet international standards while addressing local business needs. With QTSP certification, Remote Signing services via TrustCA, and Vietnam’s first and only electronic timestamp certification service—TrustCA Timestamp—SAVYINT is building a complete ecosystem for electronic documents, transactions, and e-commerce, all while adhering to both local and international regulations. SAVYINT offers various digital signature solutions, including Smart eContract (the intelligent electronic contract) and SAM Appliance (a key management and digital signature device). These innovations solidify SAVYINT’ position as the top provider of digital signature solutions. Smart eContract complies strictly with Vietnamese laws on electronic contracts and digital signatures, as well as electronic document storage regulations. The solution adheres to the technical standards required by Decree 52/2013/ND-CP, as well as Decree 130/2018/ND-CP, Circular 16/2019/TT-BTTTT, Circular 06/2015/TT-BTTTT, and Circular 22/2020/TT-BTTTT. SAVIS is the only provider in Vietnam that fully meets the mandatory technical standards and advanced digital signature standards (AdES), including long-term validation (LTV) and timestamping, required by the European Union. Advanced features of Smart eContract Smart eContract is the first and only solution in Vietnam to integrate advanced digital signing features such as AdES (advanced electronic signatures), timestamping, long-term validation (LTV), and long-term archive and notarization services (LTANS), ensuring storage for 10, 20 years, or even permanently. Save up to 90% in time and costs Compared to traditional contracts, Smart eContract reduces operational, printing, shipping, and paper storage costs significantly. With dynamic workflows, all operations can be completed electronically, minimizing processing time for organizations and businesses. Contact SAVYINT now for the best support!
Digital transformation with Smart eContract
Electronic contracts are considered a foundational solution for enterprise digital transformation, serving as a crucial step in driving the growth of contactless electronic transactions. Digital transformation is not just a trend but a mandatory requirement in the digital age. Many businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, are accelerating their digital transformation to join the Industry 4.0 wave. However, the reality is that not all businesses succeed. According to a McKinsey report, over 70% of businesses fail in their digital transformation efforts. Lack of leadership commitment, insufficient knowledge of digital transformation, and shortages of resources and finances are common obstacles faced by many Vietnamese businesses. In particular, the biggest bottleneck for many businesses is a lack of information about digital technology. Many business owners do not know what digital transformation is, where to start, and which technologies and solutions are best suited for their business. Electronic contracts as a lever for digital transformation Applying appropriate digital processes and technology solutions helps businesses optimize operations and gradually achieve solid digital transformation. In this process, businesses need to identify that the first and most important step in digital transformation is to digitize documents, build an electronic document system, and thereby form a paperless digital working environment. And contracts are one of the important documents that need to be prioritized when digitizing processes. Regarding electronic contracts, the legal framework has been and continues to be perfected. The Law on Electronic Transactions No. 51/2005/QH11 recognizes the legal value of electronic contracts: “The legal value of an electronic contract cannot be denied solely because it is expressed in the form of a data message.“ In addition, Article 33 of the Law on Electronic Transactions 2005 requires an electronic contract to meet the following conditions to be considered valid: Smart eContract – Intelligent electronic contracts for all businesses Smart eContract is an electronic contract solution developed by SAVYINT to serve the needs of digitizing and automating electronic contract signing processes for all organizations and businesses on multiple platforms (software, apps, web, etc.). Parties to an electronic contract do not need to meet in person, saving time and avoiding risks related to the transportation and storage of paper documents. Automated processes, 100% paperless With just a single software, businesses can create documents, customize approval processes, digitally sign contracts, send, receive, and store electronically, ensuring a seamless, automated, and 100% paperless process. Review, edit, and sign anytime, anywhere Smart eContract allows for easy use on mobile devices such as laptops, tablets, and mobile phones. In addition, the software supports common digital signature forms such as USB tokens, remote signing, and mobile device signing, helping organizations and businesses operate easily, intuitively, and process documents and sign contracts anytime, anywhere in just a few minutes. Save up to 90% of time and costs With a traditional paper contract, businesses have to bear various costs such as: operating costs, printing, transportation, and manual storage costs. Not to mention the loss, dependence on third-party carriers, or other objective factors that can cause the contract to take many days to complete. If applying electronic contracts, all operations can be performed on a network environment. As a result, the contract signing process is not interrupted, minimizing risks due to the usual delivery process, and shortening the processing time to the maximum for organizations and businesses. Ensure legality, reliability, integrity, and accessibility The Smart eContract intelligent electronic contract software allows the standardization of input digitized documents into documents with formats such as TIFF, PDF/A, and also supports advanced signature standards such as CAdES, PadES, XadES, and integrates with the TrustCA Timestamp digital signature and long-term validation technology standards LTV, LTANS to serve long-term storage and authentication of electronic documents, thereby ensuring the reliability and integrity of signed electronic certificates. Smart eContract – FAST, SAVING, SECURE! Contact SAVYINT today to own a quality electronic contract solution!
Smart eContract – Smart and secure contracts at all times
In today’s era of information technology, traditional contracts are gradually being replaced by electronic contracts due to their convenience, intelligence, and speed. There’s no need for in-person meetings or waiting for physical documents to be delivered—all contract processes are handled within a single management system. What is an electronic contract? Legal value of electronic contracts An electronic contract, as defined in Article 33 of the 2005 Law on Electronic Transactions, is a contract established in the form of a data message, executed through electronic means, magnetic devices, cloud computing, or digital technology. Electronic contracts offer an optimal solution, allowing businesses to sign contracts remotely, anytime, anywhere—especially during the complexities of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, to fully capitalize on this tool, businesses must understand the legal framework for signing and executing electronic contracts. From a legal standpoint, electronic contracts hold the same value as paper contracts and cannot be denied simply because they are in data message form. Additionally, an electronic contract must meet the following criteria: What advantages do electronic contracts have over traditional paper contracts? Electronic contracts offer significant advantages over traditional paper contracts, particularly during the COVID-19 outbreak. The table below highlights these advantages: Electronic Contract Traditional Paper Contract Process – Online, automated, fully paperless – The offline process is complex and manual.– Involves a lot of paperwork, making storage and management challenging. Form Electronic system, no paper Traditional paper-based documents. Method – Signed via computers, tablets, smartphones – Remote signing anytime, anywhere – Ability to sign multiple contracts simultaneously – Hand-signed with a red stamp on physical paper contracts.– Each contract must be signed and stamped individually. Content In addition to tradition Unlike electronic contracts that may include additional agreements such as technical requirements, electronic signature verification, and integrity/security conditions, traditional contracts generally cover: – Technical requirements – Electronic signature verification – Integrity and security conditions – Contract parties;– Quantity, quality;– Price and payment methods;– Duration, location, and method of contract execution;– Rights and obligations of the parties;– Liabilities for contract violations;– Methods of dispute resolution. Signing method Electronic signature, digital signature Handwritten signatures. Contract storage Centralized, highly secure storage, easy to search for documents – Stored in physical warehouses, posing significant challenges to document security.– Requires substantial space and effort to store paper documents.– Vulnerable to risks such as loss, damage, deterioration, or pest infestations.– Difficulty in locating and retrieving documents.– Security systems are unreliable, making it hard to control and manage. Cost Saves up to 90% in time and costs Completing a contract takes a long time, and costs associated with delivery and storage are high. – No need for printing, shipping, or physical storage – Flexible signing times and locations – Time is wasted waiting for customer responses before continuing with the transaction process.– Heavily dependent on leadership schedules, as signatures often require waiting for their availability.– Significant delays in delivering contracts between parties, with a high risk of loss or misplacement. Smart eContract – A smart and secure electronic contract solution Electronic contracts have many advantages over traditional contracts, but risks remain, such as verifying the signer’s identity, signing time (in cases where digital certificates expire), document accessibility (due to technological changes), and data integrity (modifications after signing). Smart eContract addresses these challenges by integrating advanced security features such as timestamping, AdES advanced signatures, and long-term validation (LTV, LTANS), ensuring the highest levels of fraud protection and legal validity in electronic storage. This solution meets the automation needs of organizations and businesses for electronic contract signing, anywhere and anytime, while complying with Vietnam’s Ministry of Information and Communications Circular No. 16/2019/TT-BTTTT and international eIDAS standards. By automating processes from document creation, signing, storage, to transport and extraction, Smart eContract helps organizations quickly build a paperless working environment that is cost-effective, safe, and maximally secure. Contact us for immediate consultation! SAVYINT is the first provider of remote digital signing services, offering a full range of basic, advanced, and long-term validated digital signing solutions.