So you want to be a Remote Online Notary, but you are still on the fence as to the true benefits of notarizing documents online? Don’t be! The positives far outweigh the negatives (but we will save the negatives for a later time). When it comes to RON, there are many benefits that are not offered or are minimally so, by traditional Mobile Notarization. Let’s dive into the Top 10 Benefits of Being a RON….
Perform Your Work Without Traveling (Or Pants) - Perhaps the greatest benefit one gets from being a Remote Online Notary is that everything is literally at your fingertips. All of your work can be done from your home office computer without the need to leave the house or even wear anything more than shorts all summer long and sweatpants all winter long. Like a good mullet, as long as it’s business on the top, the rest is all party.
Multiple Locations and Multiple Participants Simultaneously - Gone are the days of split-signings where one party is in one location and then the docs must be shipped across the country to a secondary location. With online notarization, signers can all participate in the signing at the same time from varying locations. The signer can’t find a witness? No problem, they can be brought in remotely. The Realtor wants to be at the signing but can’t make it to the client’s location, no worries. RON makes multiple party signings and locations a breeze.
Simplified Process Improves Efficiency - Because everything is performed from a single location, many of the processes from the “paper days” can be eliminated. No longer do you need dual tray printers. No longer do you have to run back to Escrow for last-minute document changes. Acceptance of the assignment, confirmation with the signers, completion of the signing and the return of the documents all can happen from the comfort of your office chair.
Work Anywhere, Anytime You Want - Before Remote Online Notary, the Notary was somewhat location bound. If the signing was not in your area, you likely weren’t going to get the work, but now that barrier is stripped away. The signer can quite literally be anywhere in the world and as long as they have proper Identification and can pass through the Knowledge Based Assessment (KBA), the world is your oyster. Does someone want to meet at an odd hour in the middle of the night in a shady part of town? No problem with that either. As long as you both can get to a computer, the signing is a go.
Fraud Risk Reduction - Have you ever been presented with an ID from a State whose ID you are completely unfamiliar with? Have you ever gotten an Arizona Driver’s License from a signer in their 50s and the photo on their ID is from someone when they were in their 20s? Because of KBA and Credential Analysis, there is a bit lessening of the potential for fraud based on the steps the signer must take before you can meet with them. They are quizzed about the only personal information they should know and their IDs are reviewed by computer software for validity. While it does not take the notary “off the hook,” it does help add an extra layer of security to the signing process.
Connect To Tech Savvy Clients - In the day and age of Uber, DoorDash, Amazon, and almost anything else you can imagine at the tap of a button, today’s clients are much more comfortable with interacting with people and things in a digital manner. For the younger generation that has never known that phones were actually tethered to a wall at one time in history, this type of technology is a godsend. Of course, this knife can be cut both ways when you consider the aging population and their reluctance to adopt new ideas and technologies. But let’s focus on the positives and eliminate the negatives.
Save on Resources - Let’s face it, one of the biggest drains on any business is controlling expenses and when it comes to the traditional notary, those can add up quickly. With inflation on the rise at places we haven’t seen in nearly four decades, the price of everything has gone up. Paper, toner, ink, office supplies, and mailing supplies are at all-time highs. Gas prices are through the roof. Car maintenance costs much more than it used to cost. Remote Online Notary is the “green” alternative to traditional notarization. There is no making double copies of documents and no adding pollutants to the air with carbon emissions from planes flying dead trees across the country.
Added Security For All Parties Involved - Because RON is a fully digital experience, there are added securities that might not be present with traditional notarization. Documents are less likely to be lost, stolen, damaged or manipulated. Because the files are encrypted upon completion of the notarial act, it becomes much more difficult to tinker with a file after it has left that notary’s hands and in the event, it does happen, it is typically much more apparent. That’s not to say that there are not new types of security risks that didn’t exist before, but again we are focusing on the positive aspects of this brave new world.
Everything is Fully Digital and Easily Accessible - Because everything in Online Notarization is done electronically, records are fully digital and, in many cases, are much more easily accessible. Journals are a breeze to search. Documents are easily returned to the requesting parties. Corrections are able to be made quickly. Email and electronic tracking with time and date stamps makes delivery and completion much more evident. The entire transaction is recorded, which can help eliminate the “he said, she said” aspect. Doing these types of signings makes the burden of proof much simpler for all parties involved.
Show Me The Money - Probably one of the most attractive things about Remote Online Notary is the earnings potential. As we discussed earlier, you are not bound to set office hours any longer. Are you an early riser? Maybe you want to work with a time zone other than your own. Are you a night owl? People living in Europe and Asia are up and going about their normal routines even though everyone around them is off in Dreamland. And perhaps most importantly, because you are no longer traveling from location to location, the time/value coefficient increases considerably (I’m not sure if that’s a real term. Anything to do with math is FAR beyond my grasp). There is minimal downtime between signings. Since you can instantly travel from one place to another, it’s like having a time machine. Granted it’s not a fancy time machine, but it gets you all around the world at the tap of a button.
Comments