M
ore states will respond to public demand and allow remote and eNotarization in 2020, triggering further growth in the electronic and online notary industry. By the end of 2020, 36 states will have eNotary laws, remote notary laws or both. Public demand is being fueled by the security, cost savings, convenience and efficiency these services offer, and state lawmakers are responding. Florida, Idaho, Kentucky and Oklahoma eNotary laws went into effect January 1, 2020.
eNotaries electronically affix signatures and notary seals to an electronic document such as a PDF or Word document. The document is then instantly and securely transmittable. Remote notaries are authorized to provide a similar service to parties in separate locations via the internet, using digital tools and a live audio/video connection versus electronic notary where physical presence is required by law.
(Read complete article.)
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Happy New Year and new decade to all our PRIA Local attendees. PRIA Local (formerly PREP) has been around now since 2003 and while there have been many changes, we are pleased that many states still have one or more active Chapters.
For those of you still considering the benefits of taking PRIA home with you by meeting with all your government and business partners at the local level, we've compiled materials and guides on the
PRIA website, to make starting a Chapter as easy as possible.
One of the newest Chapters will have their first meeting on January 17. S
o if you're in the Palm Harbor, FL area, consider attending the
West Central Florida Chapter meeting. Check out their agenda
here.
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2019 wrought a lot of wrangling over policies to govern how technology is used across and by government. It was a year that started with a shutdown of the federal government, continued with a steady uptick in (reported) cases of ransomware and growing revelations around election security, and also featured plenty of discussion around the role of government in ensuring big technology companies protect citizen privacy.
Battles raged locally and nationally over whether current policies strike the right balance of innovation versus local control when it comes to ever-shrinking connectivity infrastructure and an ever-growing set of options for navigating government services. (
Read complete article
.)
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In a recent report aimed at identifying improvements to the regulatory landscape that will better support financial technology and foster innovation, the U.S. Department of the Treasury offered three key recommendations to improve the electronic closing and recording process.
In drafting the report, Treasury consulted with a wide range of stakeholders—including the American Land Title Association (ALTA)—focused on consumer financial data aggregation, lending, payments, credit servicing, financial technology and innovation. The Treasury said its recommendations should enable U.S. firms to more rapidly adopt competitive technologies, safeguard consumer data and operate with greater regulatory efficiency. (
Read complete article.
)
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eRecording Partners Network (ePN) announces the addition of 13 jurisdictions across the U.S. to their eRecording network in the fourth quarter of 2019. These counties and towns are in California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, and Texas. (Read press release on
PRIA's News webpage
).
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The city of Las Vegas suffered a network breach early Tuesday, January 8, as the result of a malicious email, officials confirmed. An email led to a "compromise" of the computer network at about 4:30 a.m. City communications director David Riggleman said details surrounding the incident are under investigation and there should be a clearer picture in the coming days.
Like other governments and large corporations, the city faces numerous attacks on its system. About 2 million emails come through the city network each month, but the city was immediately notified of the "unusual activity." However, the city's never had a compromise of this nature before, even though they've had attempts in the neighborhood of 279,000 times a month. (
Read complete article.
)
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NotaryCam®, a leader in online notarization and provider of mortgage eClosing solutions, announced that it has been approved by the Michigan Department of State to provide both eNotary and remote online notarization (RON) services to the more than 113,000 notaries public registered in the state.
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson noted in a joint announcement regarding the availability of eNotary/RON and online voter registration, “Both programs represent steps forward for Michigan in using technology to provide modern and convenient services to residents.”
As an approved vendor, NotaryCam had to meet certain state requirements, including providing a demonstration of their notarial platforms to department staff that covered specific security features like tamper-evident documents and an audit trail. (Read complete press release on
PRIA's News webpage).
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excerpted from ALTA Advocacy Update by ALTA CEO/COO Diane Tomb, 12/16/19
"In December, FinCEN published guidance to help banks and title companies serve the needs of hemp producers as well as help detect elder abuse. Four federal banking agencies and state bank regulators issued requirements under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) for providing services to hemp-related businesses. Hemp production was removed from the Controlled Substances Act as part of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill).
The main component is that banks will no longer be mandated to file a suspicious activity report (SAR) of transactions involving companies that grow, produce or sell hemp products. Hemp producers will have an easier time obtaining banking services. Title and settlement companies will be able to provide services to hemp producers and retailers that seek to buy real estate.
Despite the change, banks still are expected to file a SAR if there are indications of suspicious activity. The guidance also makes a distinction between hemp businesses and state legal marijuana businesses. While from the same species of plant, hemp and marijuana are genetically distinct. Under federal law, the key difference is that hemp production is legal if the plant, seeds and derivatives result in a THC (the psychoactive component) concentration of less than 0.3% by dry weight.
At the same time, FinCEN also published an analysis of SARs involving elder abuse and fraud. This is important for title companies because some mortgage lenders request the industry to report signs of elder abuse at or before closing. SARs involving elder abuse increased dramatically over the past six years rising from about 2,000 filings per month in 2013 to a peak of nearly 7,500 filings in August 2019. Of note in the report, family members and non-family member caregivers most often are implicated in these thefts. The CFPB and other regulators have a number of resources to help train staff to identify red flags related to elder abuse."
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CONTENT DISCLAIMER
The views and opinions expressed in the media, articles, comments, or links in this publication are those of the speakers or authors and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions held by PRIA or its members. PRIA does not warrant the accuracy, timeliness or completeness of the information contained in this publication. If you have a complaint about something you have found in this publication, please contact PRIA by email at
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