By Colby Horton
Shop Site of the Month
Automotive Service of Roseville - Roseville, Calif.
www.autoserviceofroseville.com
This site implements several new techniques that are evolving within shop Web sites, including e-mail appointment scheduling, online employment applications and Web coupons. The staff profile section is an excellent addition to this site.
Web Wise
Sign Here on the “Dot.com” Line
On June 30, President Clinton used a specially encoded “smart” card to sign the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act into law. Next month, this law will go into effect, allowing a digital signature to be as legally binding as its traditional ink signature counterpart.
The law will enable consumers and business professionals to set up online brokerage accounts, take out a mortgage, or sign checks, loan and credit applications, and insurance policies. The bill, however, does not allow digital signatures to enforce such documents as adoptions, wills, cancellation of health-insurance benefits and product-safety recalls.
The e-signature is not actually an online signature, but a series of mouse clicks or key strokes that are unique to the user. Unlike a traditional signature, a users digital signature will vary each time they “sign” a document.
This new law will have an unsurpassed effect on e-commerce. According to a report in USA Today, estimates indicate that e-commerce should grow to about $1.6 trillion by 2003, due in part to the passage of this law. This is in comparison to $500 billion in 1999.
The insurance industry is also expected to flourish because of this law. Robyn B. Rowen, senior counsel at the National Association of Independent Insurers (NAII), said that 27 percent of people who participated in a recent survey are interested in online insurance sales. Less than 1 percent of property and casualty insurance was sold online in 1998, she said. This figure is expected to grow to 7.3 percent by 2003.
One criticism of the law is the concern over the basic security of these transactions. Security companies have been developing digital signature technology for several years. New approaches to securing these transactions include encrypted numeric coding devices and fingerprint or iris scans attached to computers that can verify a person's identity. “All the same laws related to fraud and forgery which apply in the paper world will also apply to the online world,” said Jeremiah S. Buckley of the Electronic Financial Services Council. “No one will be required to use an electronic signature, but need only do so if and when they feel comfortable doing so.”
The concept of e-signatures has faced both legal and security opposition. The legal issue has been resolved by implementing this new law. The security issues are continuing to be tested. In the end, e-signatures should make all of our lives easier and help move us more toward an electronic society.
Net Numbers
Of Internet-connected households that have previously purchased goods or services online, 43 percent favor e-signatures.
Source: QuickenInsuranceSM (www.QuickenInsurance.com)
ASA Web Ways
CARS 2000 Online Registration
You can now register for the Congress of Automotive Repair and Service (CARS) at the ASA Web site (http://www.asashop.org) in the ASA Events section. CARS-2000 will be held at the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas, Nov. 2-4. You can also view the CARS online brochure, including a calendar of events, seminar and course descriptions, and places to visit in Las Vegas.
ASA has online registration for all of its events. Register using secure Web pages and alleviate the hassle of filling out forms by hand and returning them by mail. Visit the ASA Events section of the Web site and register for CARS today!
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Net Worth is written by Colby Horton, ASA's electronic communications manager. He can be reached at (800) 272-7467, ext. 234, or by e-mail at colbyh@asashop.org.
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