* Secretary of State reached out to Settleware to present a solution * The state hopes to lead the nation in electronic transactions * Settleware approved in state for electronic notarization
LAGUNA BEACH, Calif., May 2, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Settleware Secure Services, Inc. today announced that the state of North Carolina has certified the company's technology as a viable solution for electronic notarization of documents. North Carolina has been aggressively pursuing a strategy that will see more of the state's business transacted with electronic signatures. As part of that initiative, the Secretary of State's office called upon a select group of vendors to present their technologies for approval.
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"We're excited to be one of the first vendors certified and look forward to playing an integral role in the acceleration of e-Commerce in North Carolina," said Rick Triola, President and CEO of Settleware Secure Services, Inc. "We have shared the same vision since 1999 and applaud the tireless efforts of Secretary of State Elaine Marshall to position the State as compliant and `open for e-Business.' This validation allows us to move forward with a complete electronic and paperless real estate and mortgage transaction and we are aggressively identifying notaries, bankers, Register of Deeds, title companies and attorneys/closing agents to move forward with our Pilot Programs and become leaders not only in the State but in all the U.S."
In an effort to provide the notaries and business communities in North Carolina with the critical information they need related to authorized electronic notary solutions, the state's Secretary of State's department is providing links to vendors that make electronic notary solutions that are available to them. Settleware is among the first companies in the nation to be listed on the site.
North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine F. Marshall says the authorization of e-notarization vendors is vital to North Carolina's economic future.
"North Carolina government has to keep up with the state's businesses for those businesses to keep up with the competition," said Secretary Marshall. "This technological leap forward will create exactly the kind of progressive business climate that North Carolina needs to continue competing with the top states in recruiting and retaining companies."
According to Triola, as states work to help their businesses become more creative, they will be seeking out technologies that will allow them to do business better, cheaper and faster by eliminating paper-based documents and wet ink signatures.
A 27-year veteran of the industry and former Wall Street Investment Banker, Triola served as Sales & Marketing Director of one of California's largest independent escrow companies before launching his technology business. Under his leadership, nearly $3 billion of real estate transactions were generated, processed, and closed. But in the future, according to Triola, every industry will need better software.
"The entire mortgage industry is moving in the direction of all-electronic mortgages, and for good reason," Triola said. "It's good to see that North Carolina's government realizes that every industry needs to make this leap into electronic commerce. Companies will not be competitive in the very near future if they don't have a simple, cost-effective method of completing these transactions without the paper. Such a solution didn't exist before, so we built it."
About Settleware
Based in Laguna Beach, Calif., Settleware Secure Services, Inc. (www.settleware.com) has been working to facilitate electronic transactions since 1999. Today, Settleware offers the only single-platform e-signing solution in production for the fully-electronic real estate and mortgage transaction, from the Point-of-Sale through to the County Recorder's office and the secondary mortgage market. The company's innovative workflow meets all standards set by the E-Sign Act and UETA and supports both MISMO SMART Doc and e-Sign PDF standards. The company offers a secure signing solution that provides document tamper sealing, roles and permissions access and extremely hack proof digital encryption algorithms that can authenticate the source of a digital signature as "valid" while providing one of the Industry's first certified e-Vault. Settleware's lender clients have been recording documents electronically with electronic signatures in the Orange County, Calif. County Recorder's office since early 2006. The company's low-cost, Web-based solution seamlessly connects all participants in the real estate/mortgage transaction, is vendor neutral and is offered either as a Software as a Service (SaaS) subscription basis or our Enterprise Edition for large institutions. For more information about Settleware, visit the company's website at www.settleware.com
The photo is also available via AP PhotoExpress.
