Electronic signature

An electronic signature is not a picture of a signature. It is a signing event tied to an identified person, timestamped, and sealed so that later changes to the document are detectable. In the EU, eIDAS defines the tiers: simple, advanced, and qualified, each with a different evidential weight.

For a lender the practical effect is that a loan agreement can be issued, signed, and stored without anyone printing anything. The signed copy, the identity evidence, and the timestamps live with the case, which is what matters when a contract is later disputed.