Transform Your Business by Digitizing Spousal Consents

ICYMI: The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued a new set of proposed regulations that would permanently waive the pre-existing requirement that spousal consents for plan distributions to be witnessed in-person by a notary or plan representative. This is both a monumental win for the retirement planning industry, and one that will have a lasting impact on the ways in which we think about opportunities for cross-industry digital transformation globally.

Good things tend to come in threes. So, without further ado, here are the top three benefits for businesses who digitize their spousal consents processes with Notarize:

1. Stronger safeguards and security features.

Because of the ways in which Remote Online Notarization (RON) transactions are executed, they uphold stricter and more stringent security requirements than those currently in place for spousal consents for plan distributions that are completed in-person by a notary. Notarize’s safeguards — which include an extensive Knowledge based identification (KBA) process and the mandated use of live audio-video technology by all parties — give businesses peace of mind and fool-proof protection against fraud. Click here to learn more about the existing safeguards and security features you’ll experience while getting spousal consents notarized on the platform.

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2. Positive impact on the planet.

What do car travel, printing, copying, and shipping all have in common? They’re all necessary in the in-person notarization process, and they all have a negative impact on the environment.

According to a recent study from Notarize and Bridgespan Social Impact — in which the global nonprofit advisory firm examined the potential and positive environmental impact of online notarizations — digitizing all notarizations would be the equivalent to removing ~800K gas powered cars from the roads per year. By means of comparison, that’s the same as removing the emissions of the entire city of Paris.The statistics are staggering, and they don’t end there:

• Completing transactions online through Notarize results in a 10% decrease in printing on a per-notarization basis
• The primary contributor to the positive environmental impact of the Notarize platform is due to a 90% reduction in driving
• The projected reduction in GHG emissions as a result of the Notarize platform is equivalent to removing ~78K gas-powered cars from the roads per year

Click here to read the full report about how using Notarize for spousal consents will benefit your business and its ability to positively impact the planet.

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3. Scale while saving time and money

When it comes to scaling your business, digital transformation is a necessity, not a nice-to-have. While a business focused on digital transformation guarantees a more competitive market position and better customer experience, it also saves you two key things that are paramount to your success: more time and more cost-savings. 

Notarize optimizes efficiency, which gives you time back in your day (and the days of your customers) to focus on what matters most. By completing spousal consents online, you’ll save an average of 21 days you otherwise would have to endure for the turnaround time of an in-person notarization process and will only spend an average of <6 minutes to complete the transaction.

We can show you the money, too. As compared to transactions that were completed online vs. in-person, Notarize delivers $97 - $103 per each document notarized.

These are only three of the ways in which using Notarize for your spousal consents needs will help you transform your business and service your customers like never before. For additional information on spousal consents for plan distributions and the new proposed guidelines from the IRS, visit notarize.com/irs-spousal-consent-regulation. 

Ready to transform your business?

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