Banking is one of several industries that still rely heavily on faxing as a way to transmit documents. While it’s easy to view faxing as a dinosaur, it’s still a key way for many financial institutions to send and receive documents.
Why the Banking Industry Still Uses Fax:
- Security
- Overseas business
- Regulations
Security
Like other industries that still use fax, the banking sector needs to be vigilant about security. From individual client accounts to stock brokerage, they have a lot of sensitive data in their hands. Fax transmissions, whether via telephone line or online fax, are more secure than email. It’s much, much more difficult to hack an encrypted fax transmission than email. For bankers, who relay sensitive information and must assure their clients that their financial information is safeguarded, that’s a major reason to continue faxing documents.
Overseas Business
While Americans have embraced other technologies, some countries still overwhelmingly prefer the fax – particularly Japan. For banks that do work internationally, faxing may be a culturally and practically preferred way to transmit documents.
The government handles a lot of paperwork and people complain that processes take too long as it is. If these institutions allowed documents to be sent over email it would add an extra dimension of uncertain validity to the paperwork. Doing so could delay processes even longer. This is obviously not an optimal solution.
Regulations
Banking is also a heavily regulated industry, and like other similar industries – legal and medical fields, for instance – banking has specific needs when it comes to documents. Signatures on faxes are considered as legally binding as something signed in person, and faxes also come with a date stamp on each transmission.
Banking Documents Usually Sent or Received via Fax
- Motgage documents
- Business loan documents
- Stock transfer documents
- Business licenses
- Articles of organization
- EIN documents
- Tax information
Online fax
Online faxing is fast becoming a preferred faxing method for many businesses. It allows you to fax from your email account, an online interface, or a mobile device, and will eliminate the need to rely on a physical fax machine.
Although it doesn’t rely on telephone lines, online faxing is still considered more secure than email. Features like mobile phone apps and electronic signing make it easy for those in the financial industry to fax from anywhere. Businesses also save money on equipment and paper by switching to online faxing. Click here to see a side-by-side comparison of online fax providers and the plans they offer.