Electronic signature & client journey
How long does it take to get a bank account signed?
Clients on the road, internal signatures dragging on, forms sent by post... Here's Aïcha's story — and what would have changed with M-Files.
Galaxy Conseils • Banking & financial institutions
Aïcha is taking the plunge. On top of her job, she's starting a small solar panel installation business, born out of her own experience at home. To collect her first payments, she needs a business account.
She's already a client of her bank, and her file is up to date. All that's left is a formality : signing the account-opening form.
Only problem : Aïcha is on assignment in Garoua for two weeks, several hundred kilometers from her branch in Douala. And a first client is waiting to pay her.
Her advisor suggests a solution : print the form, send it to her, wait for her to sign it and send it back. The envelope takes six days to reach Garoua, then six more to come back.
At the branch, it's not over. The form still needs to be signed by the advisor, reviewed by compliance, then approved by management. The manager is at a seminar. The form waits on his desk.
Three weeks later, the account is finally open. Aïcha's first client, meanwhile, has found someone else.
On paper, signing a document takes a few seconds. In reality, it's often the longest step in the process : you have to bring together the right people, in the right place, with the right document.
For a bank account, a single account opening can require the client's signature, then those of several people inside the bank. And every paper signature adds its own obstacles :
The result : days, sometimes weeks, for a process that should be settled in a day. And clients growing impatient, especially those whose business depends on that account.
Electronic signature completely changes the game. The client signs from their phone or computer, wherever they are. Internal signatories receive the document at the right time, in the right order, and sign in a few clicks.
But for it to deliver on that promise, electronic signature can't be a standalone tool. It has to be part of the document's full workflow : entry, verification, approval, signature, archiving. That's exactly what M-Files does.
Let's replay Aïcha's story, this time at a bank that uses M-Files.
Entry. The advisor prepares the business account-opening request in M-Files, using the information already on file for Aïcha.
Verification and approval. The file automatically goes through the required checks. Every step is visible in the workflow.
Signature. Aïcha receives the form on her phone in Garoua and signs it electronically. Then the internal signatures follow in sequence : Marie D. at 10:24 AM, Lucas B. at 10:27 AM, management at 10:32 AM, from a phone at a seminar.
Done. The electronically signed document is automatically archived in Aïcha's file, with a timestamp for each signature.
In eight minutes, every signature is in. The account is opened that same day, and Aïcha collects her first client's payment before the week is out.
Time saved. Signature turnaround goes from several days to a few minutes. No more postal deliveries, no more documents waiting on a desk.
Stronger security. Electronic signatures are legal and secure. Every signature is timestamped and tied to its author, and a signed document can no longer be altered without it being visible.
Real-time tracking. At any moment, you know where the document stands : who has signed, who still needs to. You track every step through to the final signature.
A smooth experience. The process is simple for your teams and your clients alike. The client signs from home or on the road, and only comes back to the branch if they want to.
With M-Files, signing isn't a separate step, handled in another tool and brought back by hand. It's part of the document's workflow : the form is prepared, checked, approved, signed, and then archived in the same place, in the client's file.
The order of signatories is set in advance. Each one is notified when it's their turn, and no one has to pass the document around.
What applies to opening an account also applies to loan offers, amendments, mandates, or internal approvals : wherever a signature slows down the process, M-Files speeds it up.
Think about the last account opened at your branch.
"How much time passed between the first and last signature? And how many people had to travel just to sign?"
If the answer is measured in days, your clients are probably waiting longer than they should.
At Galaxy Conseils, we help banks and financial institutions bring electronic signature into their processes with M-Files, starting from their real approval workflows. Want to see exactly what this would look like at your bank?
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