Benefits of the eIDAS Toolbox – Case Studies from Various Industries (Part 1)

The eIDAS Regulation has been designed with an aim to optimize digital business practices while simultaneously enhancing security for all users. It allows for better cross border operational compatibility and improves the flow of information which makes the modern economy tick. We have discussed many such aspects of eIDAS in previous articles, but in this two-part series we explore some real-world applications through a few case studies. Here we look at how businesses in the finance and logistics sectors can benefit from the various tools that eIDAS provides.

Financial Services

Banking and the broader financial services sector has perhaps the most to gain from the new eIDAS powered paradigm. Some of the most challenging and time-consuming aspects of on-boarding a new customer can be greatly streamlined with eIDAS enabled tools. Collecting customer identification data can be made much faster and more secure. Furthermore, cross-border compatibility means that banks can compete across the EU Single Market for customers and really discover their niche.

The financial sector also has to contend with high volumes as most customers might make payments multiple times a day. So, they need a security system that is unlike any other – something that is seamless enough that it doesn’t encumber the customers every time they make a payment, but still secure enough to safeguard the customers’ money. eIDAS enabled tools can bring in exactly this sort of functionality. The best part is that this can be achieved without forcing specific solutions, since eIDAS allows for flexibility in terms of technologies deployed to achieve the same end result.

eIDAS also the advantage of fitting in perfectly with other EU initiatives in the financial services sector. For example, the Revised Payment Service Directive (PSD2) enables certain features in the payments sector that are extremely synergetic with eIDAS enabled smart tools. Eventually, the end result is that the final product is more than the sum of its parts.

Logistics and Trade

The logistic and transport sector accounts for about 5% of the GDP of even a service sector economy like the EU. Logistics can account for anything from 10 to 15% of the final cost of a product. No wonder then that this is one of the most time and cost sensitive businesses. Luckily, eIDAS brings numerous innovations that can really be leveraged by the logistics sector to reduce costs.

eIDAS enabled tools like eSignatures, eTimeStamp, eSeal etc. can be used by the logistics sector to greatly reduce the amount of paperwork and the time it takes to process, digitize and transmit that paperwork. This is not only useful during the physical transport of goods, but it can probably improve the trade finance leg of such transactions to an even greater extent. That means reduced working capital cycles for companies, faster conversion of goods into cash and a much healthier operating leverage ratio in the medium to long term.

In Part 2 of this series, we look at a few more case studies from different sectors of the economy to assess how eIDAS and the opportunities it creates can make businesses run better.

References and Further Reading

Benefits of the eIDAS Toolbox – Case Studies from Various Industries (Part 1) (2018), by Gaurav Sharma

Benefits of the eIDAS Toolbox – Case Studies from Various Industries (Part 2) (2018), by Gaurav Sharma

Digital Trade and Trade Financing - Embracing and Shaping the Transformation (2018), by SWIFT & OPUS Advisory Services International Inc
REGULATION (EU) No 1316/2013 establishing the Connecting Europe Facility, amending Regulation (EU) No 913/2010 and repealing Regulations (EC) No 680/2007 and (EC) No 67/2010(12/2013), by the European Parliament and the European Council

Selected articles on Electronic Signing and Digital Signatures (2014-today), by Ashiq JA, Gaurav Sharma, Guillaume Forget, Jan Kjaersgaard , Peter Landrock, Torben Pedersen, Dawn M. Turner, and more

Selected articles on Authentication (2014-today), by Heather Walker, Luis Balbas, Guillaume Forget, Jan Kjaersgaard, Dawn M. Turner and more

The European Interoperability Framework - Implementation Strategy (2017), by the European Commission
Proposal for a DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Directive (EU) 2015/849 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing (2016), by the European Commission

REGULATION (EU) 2016/679 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (2016), by the European Parliament and the European Council
Proposal for a REGULATION concerning the respect for private life and the protection of personal data in electronic communications and repealing Directive 2002/58/EC (Regulation on Privacy and Electronic Communications), (2017), by the European Parliament and the European Council
Revised Directive 2015/2366 on Payment Services (commonly known as PSD2) (2015), by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union
REGULATION (EU) No 910/2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market and repealing Directive 1999/93/EC (2014) by the European Parliament and the European Commission
DIRECTIVE 2013/37/EU amending Directive 2003/98/EC on the re-use of public sector information (2013) by the European Parliament and the Council