Lenders now have access to a new electronic signature and vaulting solution that Equifax has brought to market by forging relationships with industry leaders Carleton and eOriginal The solution provides a complete process for origination, underwriting, closing, managing and selling loans electronically through Equifax's APPRO loan origination platform.

"Today's financial institutions are increasingly looking for ways to reduce their dependency on paper and bring greater efficiency to the lending process," said Rajib Roy, president, Enabling Technologies, Equifax. "With this new solution, we are enabling lenders to minimize paper through a powerful combination of loan origination, electronic signature and secure electronic vaulting capabilities."

Lenders gain this competitive advantage through the integration of APPRO with Carleton's SmartDocs solution and eOriginal's eCore advanced electronic vaulting. Electronic loan documents are created and signed using SmartDocs and an electronic signature pad. Documents are then deposited to the eCore vault, where they are securely maintained and managed. eCore provides permissioned access to facilitate easy organizing, reviewing and auditing of the loan package and ensures that documents maintain legal compliance and enforceability throughout their lifecycle.

The new electronic signature and vaulting solution eliminates the need for expensive software implementations that can take years to complete. Financial institutions can implement this solution within a few weeks, and once deployed, offer their customers a shortened and more convenient loan closing process. When customers enter a retail bank branch or credit union, loan documents can be viewed on screen and signed via an electronic signature pad. Once the signatures are applied, documents are automatically vaulted.

Banks and credit unions that take advantage of the new solution can realize significant cost and time savings from reduced processing time and decreased utilization of resources for paper-based tasks. Electronic loan packages ensure that documents are signed properly, and then viewed, managed and sent to all loan parties.

Part of Equifax's portfolio of Enabling Technologies, APPRO provides a single platform for end-to-end consumer and business loan processing. APPRO automates every phase of the loan processing workflow - from data acquisition and decisioning through a range of post-approval functions.