What are the methods of concluding electronic contracts?

According to Part 1 of Article 12 of the Law of Ukraine "On Electronic Commerce", the moment of signing an electronic legal agreement is the use of:

1) an electronic signature or electronic digital signature in accordance with the Law of Ukraine "On Electronic Digital Signature", provided that all parties to an electronic legal agreement use electronic digital signature means;

2) electronic signature with a one-time identifier defined by this Law;

3) an analogue of a handwritten signature (a facsimile reproduction of a signature using mechanical or other copying means, another analogue of a handwritten signature) with the written consent of the parties, which must contain samples of relevant analogues of handwritten signatures.

Not every electronic legal agreement requires the creation of a separate electronic contract in the form of a separate electronic document. An electronic contract can be concluded in a simplified form, or classically - in the form of a separate document.

A contract in a simplified form by exchanging, for example, e-mails and other means of electronic communication, or a contract concluded by joining it can be signed using:

1 Electronic signature

An electronic signature is data in electronic form that is attached to other electronic data or is logically connected with them and is intended to identify the signer of these data.

For example, registration on the company's website provides an opportunity to identify the client, and clicking on the virtual button "I agree", "I confirm" is essentially an electronic signature.

Thus, it is possible to draw a conclusion and sign an electronic contract on the supply of electrical energy by the owner of the residential premises. On the company's website, the consumer fills in the necessary fields of the electronic form, uploads the scanned documents specified in it, ticks the box confirming his consent to the conclusion of the connection agreement and sends it to the energy supplier company.

2. Electronic signature with a one-time identifier

An electronic signature, a one-time identifier, is data in electronic form in the form of an alphanumeric sequence, added to other electronic data by the person who accepted the offer (offer) to conclude an electronic contract, and sent to the other party to this contract

This is a combination of numbers and letters, or only numbers, or only letters, which you receive by email as a password, sometimes in a "login-password" pair, or an SMS code sent to your phone, or by other means.

When placing an order made under a login and password, an electronic document is created, in which the person who created the order is indicated using the information system (website of the online store).

3 An analogue of a handwritten signature (a facsimile reproduction of a signature using mechanical or other copying means, another analogue of a handwritten signature).

At the same time, the use of a facsimile signature is possible with the written consent of the parties, and if the parties have samples of corresponding analogues of handwritten signatures.

It is important to remember that the problem with such signatures is that it is not always possible to identify the signer and ensure the integrity of the document.

However, the specificity of the work of organizations with individuals is that one of the parties, as a rule, the consumer, does not have the possibility of using an electronic digital signature. Therefore, such types of electronic signature have the right to be.

In this case, the risks associated with the use of a less reliable type of electronic signature are less significant than the risks associated with the loss of potential buyers and consumers of services who do not use an electronic digital signature.