BankSA, BOM, St.George introduce digital signatures

Effective Tuesday, 19 November, for new and draft applications, the banks will provide customers with the capability to digitally sign their home loan documents from their smart device or computer.

The Westpac group subsidiaries have been trialling the technology for some time, with Bank of Melbourne first launching the technology after the Victorian government changed the Transfer of Land Act as part of a push towards fully digitising the home buying process.

BankSA, Bank of Melbourne and St.George have all now announced that they will provide e-sign capability from Tuesday.

The banks have emphasised that, for new securities located in Victoria and NSW, customers can electronically accept all the home loan documents; however, all other states and territories require the mortgage document to be signed and witnessed on paper.

For customers in these jurisdictions, customers will need to download the mortgage document from e-sign, then print, sign and return it (whilst electronically signing the loan offer). 

The Westpac group subsidiaries have outlined that this process would provide faster receipt and return of documents, and provide more convenient access to documents while ensuring that data is held securely in a private cloud.

Bank of Melbourne, BankSA and St.George are therefore highlighting to brokers that e-sign is now available as a document delivery and acceptance option for eligible applications, and urging brokers to familiarise themselves with the e-sign process by attending a training session with their BDM and reading the e-sign user guide on the broker portal. 

Deals submitted prior to 19 November will not be eligible for e-sign.

[Related: Bankwest launches new mortgage processing tool]