Why and when do I need to use an eIDAS advanced or qualified signature?

There are two main reasons why companies need advanced and qualified signatures in the EU:

1. The first one is risk, the product of a risk assessment. If a contract represents a high commercial value then the e-signature and contract integrity needs to be of the highest quality. And this in general means a qualified signature applied to the document. In use case terms, one of ZealiD's major customers is an EU bank. To protect the contractual security of their mortgages and loans, they determined that only a qualified signature mitigates the risk of someone challenging security alone based on the digital nature of the document including that very signature. So risk drives the adoption of qualified signing.
2. The second one is for a legal requirement. There are at least 10-15 major use cases on average per EU country where member states require secure e-signing: sometimes advanced but above all qualified signing. In use case terms this means to name a few:
   1. consumer lending,
   2. corporate lending,
   3. leasing,
   4. rental/real estate type transaction,
   5. and employee agreements and public tenders.

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