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Non-Tech : E*Trade (NYSE:ET) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Spytrdr who wrote (7814)	7/28/1999 8:13:00 PM
From: Spytrdr	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 13953

ETrade to Offer Rapid Sign-up as Online Signature Law Passes Bloomberg News July 28, 1999, 2:03 p.m. PT ETrade to Offer Rapid Sign-up as Online Signature Law Passes Menlo Park, California, July 28 (Bloomberg) -- Charles Schwab Corp. and ETrade Group Inc., the two biggest Internet brokerages, will be able to open accounts online without waiting for signed paper contracts by mail under a new California law. A bill signed yesterday by California Gov. Gray Davis allows unique electronic codes to serve like pen and ink signatures, making it possible to enter into legally binding contracts over the Internet. The law, which takes effect Jan. 1, applies to accounts with California-based brokerages opened by people who live anywhere in the U.S. ``With a few keystrokes and mouse clicks, ETrade customers will soon be able to move their accounts forward in a fraction of the time currently required to manually process forms and contracts,' Christos M. Cotsakos, ETrade's chairman and chief executive, said in a statement. Menlo Park, California-based ETrade and San Francisco-based Schwab control about 40 percent of the online brokerage market. Bill Burnham, an analyst at Credit Suisse First Boston, said the new law won't give a significant advantage to the two companies, because potential clients will continue to choose a brokerage based on price and service. ``The passage of the bill is progress, but you really need a national law' and amendments to the Uniform Commercial Code, which governs most commercial transactions, Burnham said. ``There's more work to be done to make this truly beneficial.' A digital signature is a unique code that allows a specific individual to send and receive encrypted documents, Burnham said. The code signals that the user is the person he or she claims to be, much like a traditional signature. The brokerages can offer their own digital signatures, which would be valid only on the issuer's Web site, or choose to honor signatures from companies such as Verisign Inc. When digital signatures and encryption become more widely used and accepted, brokerages and their clients can save time and money by eliminating paper registration, transaction confirmations and account statements, Burnham said. ``It's ridiculous for an all-electronic brokerage such as ETrade to hold its customers hostage to paper,' Cotsakos said. A Schwab spokeswoman said the company has long supported the use of digital signatures, and plans to offer online account sign- up to customers. The California law gives legal status to digitally signed documents between customers nationwide and California-based brokerages, according to a spokesman for California Sen. John Vasconcellos, who wrote the bill. Schwab shares rose 2 1/2 to 48 1/16, while ETrade added 2 21/32 to 33 31/32.