Electronic Signature (E-Signature) Market Size & Share Analysis - Trends, Drivers, Competitive Landscape, and Forecasts (2024-2030)

The global e-signature market generated revenue of USD 2,580.3 million in 2023, which is expected to witness a CAGR of 26.7% during 2024–2030, to reach USD 13,407.3 million by 2030. This is ascribed to the growing security concerns across enterprises, the increasing government support, and the surging adoption of innovative technologies in developing countries, such as India, China, and Brazil.

Moreover, the growth in the e-commerce industry has triggered the advance of several related sectors. The application of e-signatures in the e-business industry provides efficiency, strong partner–customer relationships, and deep integration of supply chains.

In several developing countries, including India and China, the e-commerce market is characterized by a mobile-first consumer behavior, digital payments, and social commerce adoption. China is the fastest-growing country in the global e-commerce market. The growing e-commerce sector is expected to provide further growth opportunities to e-signature market players. As more businesses move online, more legally binding documents would be required for governing and accommodating this transition. Additionally, this would lead to a significant requirement for solutions that offer security to protect sensitive documents online.

In addition, the rising internet penetration, along with the increasing number of connected devices, would further drive e-business, globally. As a result of the growing e-commerce market, the demand for secure transactions is increasing year-over-year, which would drive the demand for e-signature solutions in the coming years.

Moreover, due to the existence of several providers, the market has a moderate client base all over the world. It has intense competition, a large number of participants, and medium product differentiation. Because of the constant demand for more-innovative services, the market has great brand recognition power. Moreover, due to their priority of staying ahead of competitors, market players have been involved in R&D investments and vertical integration.

E-Signature Market Trends & Drivers

Growing Adoption of Signature Pads

• Signature pads are rapidly gaining traction in the global market, primarily since they can preserve the forensic information of signatures with pressure and dynamics, thereby providing a high degree of personalization and security, as each signature is unique and identifiable.
• This device electronically captures a signer's handwritten signature on a touchpad, using a pen-type stylus. As the signer digitally signs on the signature pad, a sensor reads/identifies the pressure from the tip of the stylus and transmits signature data to a computer.
• Digital pen signing also provides real-time preventive and detective controls. In Europe, for instance, a large number of transactions are being confirmed by biometric signature technology.
• Furthermore, in the U.S., financial institutions are adopting pen interfaces for the transformation of the banking experience. Additionally, a pen-drawn signature is given deliberately with the presumption of intent, unlike a mouse click. Therefore, the acceptance of signature pads is high across industries such as government, healthcare, and BFSI, which are embracing the pen technology significantly.
• Banks that embrace the technology and eliminate the paper sign-in sheets for collecting and analyzing data are experiencing better identification of individuals who try to commit frauds in the system. In addition, the adoption of these devices in the healthcare sector is enhanced by handwriting tools, due to advanced touchscreen interfaces and improved handwriting capture.

Increasing Requirement for Higher Security and Implementation of Remote Working Environments Drive Market Growth

• As organizations are rapidly transitioning their businesses to the cloud and the workforce has become more distributed, the need to accommodate new remote business scenarios has become more acute. Thus, players are tapping into this potential market where businesses are shifting away from traditional ‘wet’ signatures and paper documents with confidence.
• The rapid growth in cloud deployment and mobile banking transactions, especially during the pandemic, drove the demand for multi-channel security solutions and enhanced user experiences across all industries.
• Similarly, the increasing demand for remote access to important resources by employees, business partners, and customers is introducing new security risks for participants. Cybercriminals are launching more-sophisticated hacking attacks with greater frequency on larger organizations. Thus, organizations require advanced security solutions to protect against such hacking attacks and breaches.
• Moreover, several governments worldwide have issued specific recommendations, either requiring or advocating multi-factor authentication (MFA) and other security measures, to improve the security of remote banking transactions. These occurrences accelerated during this pandemic time, and their frequency will continue to increase.
• Thus, the market for authentication, anti-fraud, and e-signature solutions will grow in the coming years due to the rise in the volume of digital banking transactions, digital commerce, corporate access requirements during work-from-home, awareness of the impact of cybercrimes, and supportive government regulations.

High Cost of E-Signature Licensing and Availability of Conventional Alternatives

• The high price associated with different types of e-signature solutions is adversely impacting the growth of the global e-signature market. Most of these solutions are costly due to the requirement for extensive software and hardware integration for enabling multiple functionalities in them.
• E-signatures, although being a convenient mode of transaction, remain costly for subscribers, which limits their adoption. The cost of an e-signature solution can range from USD 250,000 to USD 1 million for software licenses and can offer validity up to 10 years. The high cost is the key hindrance for e-signature providers in targeting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
• Additionally, the availability of document-based conventional signature solutions is impeding the growth of the e-signature market across the globe. In most developing and underdeveloped countries, several industries are using conventional paper-based signature solutions for security and administration purposes. This is primarily due to the high cost and low awareness regarding e-signature solutions.

Segmentation Analysis

Component Insights

• The software category held the largest revenue share, of more than around 50%, in 2023 in the market. This is ascribed to the increasing use of cloud-based solutions and advanced e-signature solutions with encryption services to ensure secure communication or sharing of digital documents.
• Enterprises’ rising usage of cloud-based e-signature to manage and protect critical data is also driving this category.
• The services category will witness the highest CAGR, of 26.9%, during the forecast period. The lack of awareness and technical skills to manage large-scale operations is resulting in increasing need for managed and professional services, such as cloud, consultancy, maintenance, and implementation.

During the study, we have analyzed three components in the report:

• Software (Largest Category)
• Hardware
• Services (Fastest-Growing Category)

Deployment Type Insights

• Based on deployment type, the cloud category held the larger market share, of around 75%, in 2023. The market players are largely focusing on innovating their cloud-based solutions, thus attracting consumers to adopt solutions with enhanced security features and seamless management.
• Cloud-based e-signature solutions assist in authenticating documents via a cloud-hosted signing service, instead of having a platform locally installed. In cloud-based deployment, users’ digital signing key can be located in the cloud to ensure mobility, hence enabling the user to sign from any internet-connected device, such as a smartphone, tablet, or laptop.

Deployment types covered in the report include:

• Cloud (Larger and Faster-Growing Category)
• On-Premises

Type Analysis

• The username and PIN category held the largest market share, of around 40%, in 2023 in the market, due to the increasing use of username and PIN solutions. When a user enters a password or PIN for authentication, a single fixed signature image is put into each signed document. These signatures are taken using sophisticated pen-and-tablet technology, which precisely translates a user's signature into an image.
• The clickwrap category is projected to witness the highest CAGR, of 26.8.0%, during 2024–2030 in the market. Clickwrap enables users to agree to the terms of a contract or e-sign it by clicking "I agree", "I accept", or other similar keywords. This solution has the same legal effect as a wet signature and is considered similar to written or verbal contracts.
• As a result, the demand for these signatures will rise at a significant pace during the forecast period.

Below are the major types covered in the report:

• Username and Personal Identification Number (PIN) (Largest Category)
• Signature Pad at Point of Sale (POS)
• Clickwrap (Fastest-Growing Category)
• Voice Signature

Vertical Insights

• The BFSI category held the largest revenue, of around 45% in 2023, as well as having the highest CAGR, of around 27.2%, during 2024–2030. The demand for online services, including internet banking, stock trading, and mobile banking, has increased dramatically over the years. With business applications that center on consumers, BFSI companies can understand consumers’ preferences, behavior, and choices. These solutions provide strong security, manage regulatory compliance, and protect identities.
• These solutions assist BFSI firms in simplifying complex business processes by providing enhanced security and faster customer onboarding.
• Moreover, the rapid shift toward digital platforms to provide streamlined services to their clients is increasing the need for these solutions. For instance, the average implementation time of large organizations for e-signature is around 9 months, and for a medium-sized organization, it is more than 5 months.
• Furthermore, the use of e-signatures in the IT departments of public and commercial enterprises improves the security of all IT-related tasks. E-signing is known to improve an organization’s efficiency, particularly in its contractual processes. For telecom companies with multiple branches and who need to retain contracts or agreements for future use, significant savings can be made by adopting e-signatures, as they help telecom companies cut on paper, printing, legal, communication, and storage costs.
• Similarly, the healthcare industry is gradually adopting digital technologies for medical recording and invoice payment. These technologies boost healthcare personnel's productivity, improve healthcare services, and strengthen security. They can be used to electronically sign medical records and forms. These signatures help provide improved compliance, digital transformation, simple e-record maintenance, and reduced manual processing of healthcare papers.

Verticals covered in the report include:

• Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) (Largest and Fastest Category)
• Government
• Information Technology (IT) & Telecom
• Healthcare
• Legal
• Others

APAC to Grow at 27% CAGR

• Geographically, APAC is the fastest-growing market, advancing at a CAGR of 27% during 2024–2030. This is because of the increasing adoption of digital services, growing e-commerce sector, and rising user acceptance of paperless transactions, online billing, and payment facilities.
• Other factors driving the market growth include the improving digital infrastructure, surging number of SMEs, and increasing implementation of new and advanced technologies such as AI and ML.
• In the region, China accounted for the largest market share in 2023, owing to the continuous expansion of its e-commerce and BFSI industries, which require these solutions to secure their documents and save time.
• North America held the largest market share, of around 55%, in 2023. This is primarily due to the increasing use of e-signatures to reduce online fraud, their surging application in the BFSI and healthcare sectors, and rising investments in advanced technologies to increase productivity across the region. Supportive e-signature laws and regulations in the U.S. and Canada are also driving the regional market growth.
• The U.S. e-signature market created the majority of the revenue in North America in 2023. This is ascribed to the increase in the usage of digital services, which have resulted in the surging need for app-based services. The rising internet penetration, combined with the growing security concerns among businesses, is driving the demand for these solutions across the U.S.

The regions and countries analyzed for this report include:

• North America (Largest Regional Market)
  • U.S. (Larger and Faster-Growing Country Market)
  • Canada
• Europe
  • Germany (Largest Country Market)
  • U.K. (Fastest-Growing Country Market)
  • France
  • Italy
  • Spain
  • Rest of Europe
• Asia-Pacific (APAC) (Fastest-Growing Regional Market)
  • China (Largest Country Market)
  • Japan
  • India (Fastest-Growing Country Market)
  • South Korea
  • Australia
  • Rest of APAC
• Latin America (LATAM)
  • Brazil (Largest and Fastest-Growing Country Market)
  • Mexico
  • Rest of LATAM
• Middle East and Africa (MEA)
  • Saudi Arabia (Largest Country Market)
  • South Africa
  • U.A.E. (Fastest-Growing Country Market)
  • Rest of MEA

Market is Consolidated

The e-signature market is consolidated, with a few major players combinedly dominating the industry. Companies undergoing the digital revolution find that the electronic signature process is a significant catalyst in smoothening workflows and automating their document management systems. The market is expected to be more competitive in the coming years as organizations increasingly adopt identity, security, and business productivity solutions.

In recent years, they have been involved in the launching of services/solutions and partnerships, in order to stay ahead of their competitors.

E-Signature Companies News

• In January 2022, Syncfusion Inc. launched BoldSign, a new electronic signature solution. BoldSign is a platform that provides a cloud app and a native.NET SDK that can be entrenched directly into business applications for contract sending, tracking, and signing.
• In November 2021, Adobe Inc. partnered with Major League Baseball (MLB). Through this, MLB increased efficiency and fully digitized workflows that need an individual's approval, consent, or signature, including vendor contracts and player agreements.
• Entrust Corporation has acquired Evidos, a Dutch provider of cloud-based identity verification and e-signature solutions.