From Days to Minutes: How Remote Online Notarization Is Transforming the Equipment Financing Industry
In the equipment finance industry, speed and certainty matter just as much as rates and terms. A deal, whether it’s a loan or a lease, is only as strong as the process that gets it from “approved” to “delivered”. Yet many workflows still rely on chasing down wet-ink signatures for agreements and, more critically, scheduling in-person notarizations for essential documents like limited Power of Attorneys (LPOA), affidavits, and title paperwork which adds friction, delays, and risk at every step.
The result? Stalling revenue and errors that put assets at risk. Worst of all, it leaves customers wondering why in 2025, when there should be a better way to execute documents online, they're still forced to find, schedule, and meet with a notary in-person just to get their equipment.
That’s the problem Proof set out to solve.
“When you can tell a customer that their deal will be signed, sealed, and delivered in under an hour with a 99 percent success rate, it changes the relationship,” said Jeffrey Bilbrey, President and GM of LeasePath. “Instead of worrying about delays, our clients are free to focus on service and growth.”
Why Equipment Finance Gets Stuck on Paper
Traditional notarization often means finding an available notary, scheduling an in-person appointment, and waiting on documents to be mailed or scanned. This is more than an inconvenience; it's a critical bottleneck, especially for the LPOA document central to equipment finance.
This single document is vital for both sides of the industry, but for different reasons:
- For Equipment Financing: A buyer grants the lender a POA to enforce their security interest. This is the legal claim that allows the lender to add their lien to the certificate of title for vehicles, trailers, or other titled assets.
- For Equipment Leasing: A lessee grants the lessor (who still owns the asset) a POA. This allows the lessor to sign, endorse, or negotiate insurance proceeds if the equipment is damaged or lost.
In both cases, this crucial POA often requires notarization which means that the entire transaction can grind to a halt waiting for that one in-person signature.
On top of that, identity verification for these high-value transactions is dangerously inconsistent, creating a massive opening for impersonation and synthetic fraud. Even notaries conduction transactions in-person can be deceived by sophisticated fake IDs. Meanwhile, other platforms that rely on a simple 'flash' of a license over a video call lack the multi-layered, compliant security needed to ensure safe online transactions. This leaves no simple way to confirm who actually signed, putting your assets at risk.
In a market where every delay costs time, money, and customer confidence, that’s no longer sustainable.
The New Standard: Speed and Trust in One Workflow
Proof brings identity verified eSignature and remote online notarization (RON) to the entire equipment financing lifecycle, creating a faster, more secure process from application through delivery.
Here’s how it works:
- Prepare documents digitally. Create transactions with Proof to send POAs, bills of sale, and lien releases electronically for execution.
- Confirm identity. Signers complete identity verification through knowledge based authentication (KBA) or a biometric live selfie, along with government ID checks to confirm they are who they claim to be.
- Notarize online. Signers meet with a commissioned online notary remotely in minutes, no scheduling required. Documents are signed, notarized and returned back to your business immediately upon completion of the meeting.
- Authorize pickup. Before equipment leaves the lot, teams can re-verify the customer’s identity to prevent handoff errors or asset loss.
- Retain the record. Every verification, signature, and authorization is logged, time-stamped, and stored for audits and compliance.
That complete chain of trust transforms how equipment finance teams work. It’s not just about speed. It’s about knowing, without question, that every step was completed by the right person under the right conditions.
From Friction and Risk to Speed and Certainty
Manual notarization slows deals down. Teams chase signatures, wait for scheduling, and lose time to errors that surface right before delivery.
With Proof, digitizing the entire customer journey from identity verification to notarizing documents results in a workflow built for today’s pace: fast for customers, transparent for teams, and secure from start to finish.
The equipment financing industry is moving fast, and customers expect experiences that match. They want the same digital convenience they have in every other part of their lives. Lenders and lessors want tools that deliver speed without sacrificing security.
Proof makes that balance possible. By combining verified identity, RON, and a complete audit trail, Proof brings trust and transparency to every transaction, from the first signature to the final handoff.
Ready to Modernize Your Equipment Financing Workflow?
Close deals faster, eliminate paperwork, and release equipment with confidence.
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