Faxing has been used in the finance industry for many years as a secure and reliable way to send and receive important documents, including bank statements, loan applications, and other confidential financial records.
In recent years, there has been a shift towards online faxing from the traditional method, which allows documents to be transmitted digitally over the internet. This service is becoming increasingly popular in the finance industry for its convenience and efficiency.
In this article, we’ll discuss the key benefits of online fax in finance and why you should consider switching to this service.
The 9 Benefits of Online Fax in Finance
1. Increased Mobility and Accessibility
Being in the finance sector means you must be accessible at all times. If there’s any document your client or colleague urgently needs, you need to be able to send it to them immediately.
One of the major benefits of online fax is the ability to send and receive faxes from anywhere, at any time. With traditional fax machines, you need to be in the same location as the fax machine to send or receive a fax.
With online fax, you can access your faxes from your computer or mobile device, making it easy to stay connected while on the go. This increased mobility and accessibility are beneficial for finance professionals who may need to work remotely or while traveling.
2. Improved Security
The finance industry deals with sensitive and confidential information, including account numbers, personal financial data, and transaction records. It’s crucial that this information is protected and remains secure during transmission.
Online faxing uses secure, encrypted channels to transmit files, making it much more difficult to intercept the fax. Furthermore, online faxing gives you more control over who can access the faxed information.
Most providers offer different access levels and permission settings to restrict access to specific users. This feature allows you to limit access to sensitive information to only authorized personnel. It also helps you monitor which documents have been accessed, by whom, and when. This can be useful for compliance and audits.
3. Cost-effective
A typical financial company deals with a large volume of paperwork on a regular basis. Physically transmitting these documents via courier services can cost your organization a few hundred dollars to even thousands. Not to mention the expenses that come with printing the files.
With online fax, you can avoid these costs and only pay for the service. Some online fax providers also offer unlimited faxing plans, which make it more efficient and cost-effective for high-volume document transmissions. Alternatively, you can opt for a pay-per-fax service if this best suits your needs.
4. Environmentally friendly
Another benefit of online faxing in finance is that it helps you reduce your waste. When switching to a more digital approach, you can do away with needing paper and ink to transmit documents. Not only does it save you money, but it’s also great for the environment.
With online faxing, you can say goodbye to using a fax machine. This helps your organization cut down your power usage, effectively lowering your carbon footprint. Moreover, as digital faxing virtually does not require any maintenance, you do not have to worry about replacing any parts.
5. Better Organization
As mentioned above, finance sectors deal with hundreds, if not thousands, of documents regularly. Keeping everything organized can be challenging, especially if you do not have a dedicated team member who oversees this aspect.
With online faxing, all faxes are saved digitally and can be easily searched, organized, and archived. This makes it easy to access important information quickly and efficiently. Many online faxing providers also offer a variety of organization and search tools, such as the ability to tag and label faxes or to create folders to organize faxes by topic or recipient.
Additionally, online faxing can help to improve collaboration and teamwork in the finance sector. With online faxing, multiple team members can access and share faxed documents in real time, improving productivity and efficiency within a finance team.
6. Electronic Signature
The beauty of this new-age faxing technology is that it comes with various features designed to make document management easier and more efficient. One feature particularly helpful in finance is the ability to sign documents digitally.
In the finance sector, the ability to sign documents quickly and efficiently is crucial. With electronic signatures, finance professionals can sign important documents without needing to print anything. This can improve the speed and efficiency of the document signing process.
Along with electronic signatures, online faxing makes it easier for you to keep track of signed documents. This can be useful in the finance sector, where it is important to maintain accurate records of signed documents for compliance purposes.
7. Integration with Other Software
Financial organizations heavily rely on various software to automate and streamline different processes, such as trading, accounting, and risk management. Additionally, these applications perform complex calculations and analyze large amounts of data.
This being said, one of the benefits of online fax in finance is that you can seamlessly integrate this platform with your other tools. This includes customer relationship management (CRM) systems, accounting systems, and document management systems, which can improve workflow and communication.
8. Archiving and Compliance
The finance industry is subject to a variety of legal and regulatory requirements, like the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA). Compliance should be treated with utmost importance to avoid costly fines and loss of customer trust and loyalty.
One benefit of online faxing in finance is that it provides a secure and tamper-proof way to archive faxed documents. Additionally, many providers also offer a variety of compliance-related tools and features. These include setting retention policies for faxed documents, tracking access to faxed documents, and generating audit reports.
9. Automation
Automation is a highly talked about topic in today’s current landscape, and for a good reason. It can significantly benefit businesses from various industries, including finance, by improving efficiency and productivity, streamlining communication, and saving time on manual data entry.
With online faxing, you can schedule your transmissions ahead so you can go ahead and do other tasks. You can also send faxes in bulk if you need to send a single fax to multiple recipients.
Best Practices for Using Online Fax in Finance
If you decide to switch to online faxing to experience all of the benefits mentioned above, make sure to keep these best practices in mind:
Choose a reputable online fax provider
You can only experience all the benefits of online fax in finance if you choose an online fax solution that’s reliable and trusted by other businesses. This will help to ensure that your faxes are transmitted and received securely and on time.
Create a clear faxing plan
Before using online faxing, it is crucial to have a clear plan for how you will use it. This includes deciding which documents will be faxed and how frequently, who will be responsible for sending and receiving faxes, and how faxed documents will be organized and stored.
Implement security measures
Although online faxing is generally secure, you still need to put in place safety and security measures to protect your vital information. It is important to implement policies that can guide your team on how to handle highly sensitive data. This can include using encryption, authentication methods, and access controls to ensure that only authorized individuals have access to the faxed documents.
Train employees
You need to invest in your employees to further maximize the benefits of online fax in finance. This includes training them on how to send and receive faxes, how to organize and store faxed documents, and how to use the security features of the online faxing service.
Use automation features
Many online faxing solutions offer automation features, like the ability to set up automatic rules for sending and receiving faxes. Using these features can help to improve efficiency and save time on manual tasks.
Keep track of faxes
It is important to keep track of your inbound and outbound faxes. Be sure to keep a record of the date and time of the fax transmission, the sender and recipient’s name, and the fax’s content. This information can be useful for compliance and record-keeping purposes. This information can also help you keep your documents organized.
Review and update regularly
Regularly review and update your online faxing plan, security measures, and staff training to ensure that they are up to date with the current industry standards and regulations.
Experience All The Benefits of Online Fax in Finance When You Use iFax
As a financial organization, you are constantly looking for ways to improve efficiency, streamline communication, and ensure compliance with regulations. iFax is a powerful tool that can help you achieve all of these goals.
With iFax, you can securely send and receive faxes, easily manage and archive faxed documents, and automate certain tasks in just a few clicks. You don’t need any new and expensive equipment as our platform works on several devices, like your smartphone or computer.
Our advanced security features ensure that your sensitive financial information is protected. We use military-grade encryption that thwarts any attempts of unauthorized access and breaches. Our online faxing solution also complies with industry standards and international regulations such as HIPAA and GLBA, among others.
Sign up with iFax today and start sending faxes online.
