E-Signature vs. Wet Signature: A Fair Comparison
Where electronic signing clearly wins
Speed and convenience are the obvious advantages, but the audit trail is arguably the more significant one. A wet signature on paper offers essentially no record of when it was actually signed or whether the signer reviewed the full document, whereas a well-implemented e-signature process captures both.
For any document involving multiple signers in different locations, electronic signing removes what would otherwise be a genuinely slow, manual coordination problem.
Where a wet signature still makes sense
Certain legal contexts still require or strongly favor a physical signature, and some counterparties, particularly older or more traditional institutions, may simply be unfamiliar or uncomfortable with electronic signing, which is a practical, if not strictly legal, consideration.
In-person, high-ceremony situations, like a home closing where all parties are physically present anyway, sometimes retain wet signatures partly for the shared experience of the moment, even when it isn't strictly required.
A practical way to decide
If speed, remote participants, or a clear digital record matter for a given document, electronic signing is usually the better default. If a specific legal requirement or established institutional preference points the other way, it's worth respecting that rather than pushing electronic signing where it isn't yet the norm.
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