Signicat
Digital identity and signing - European alternative based in Norway
Quick Overview
| Company | Signicat |
|---|---|
| Category | E-Signatures |
| Headquarters | Trondheim, Norway |
| EU/European | Yes - Norway |
| Open Source | No |
| GDPR Compliant | Yes |
| Main Features | Digital identity, E-signatures, KYC, Authentication, Qualified signatures |
| Pricing | Custom pricing |
| Best For | Enterprises needing identity verification |
| Replaces | DocuSign, OneSpan |
Detailed Review
Signicat is a leading European digital identity and electronic signature platform founded in 2007 and headquartered in Trondheim, Norway. With nearly two decades of experience in the identity verification space, Signicat has grown into one of Europe's most trusted providers of digital identity infrastructure, serving hundreds of enterprises across financial services, government, healthcare, insurance, and other regulated industries. The platform unifies identity verification, authentication, electronic signing, and identity orchestration into a single comprehensive solution, making it a powerful European alternative to US-based providers like DocuSign and Adobe Sign.
Signicat's deep roots in the Nordic digital identity ecosystem give it a unique advantage. Norway and the broader Scandinavian region have been pioneers in digital identity through systems like BankID, and Signicat has been at the forefront of integrating these national identity schemes into commercial and government workflows. Today, the platform connects to over 30 electronic identity schemes across Europe, including Norwegian BankID, Swedish BankID, Danish MitID, Finnish Trust Network, Dutch iDIN, Belgian itsme, and German eID. This extensive network of identity integrations, combined with the company's deep regulatory expertise, positions Signicat as a critical infrastructure provider for organizations that need to verify identities and execute legally binding signatures across multiple European countries.
Electronic Signatures
Signicat's electronic signature solution supports all three levels defined by the EU eIDAS regulation: simple electronic signatures (SES), advanced electronic signatures (AdES), and qualified electronic signatures (QES). Qualified electronic signatures carry the highest legal weight and are recognized across all EU member states as equivalent to handwritten signatures. Signicat achieves QES by integrating with qualified trust service providers and national eID schemes, allowing signers to authenticate using their existing bank IDs or national digital identities to produce legally binding signatures with the strongest possible compliance standing.
The signing workflow is highly configurable, supporting both synchronous signing where all parties sign simultaneously and sequential signing where documents are routed through a defined approval chain. Organizations can embed signing into their existing applications through APIs and pre-built integrations, creating seamless customer journeys that minimize friction while maximizing compliance. The platform handles the technical complexity of certificate management, time stamping, and long-term validation, ensuring that signed documents remain verifiable for years or even decades after the signing event.
Identity Verification and KYC
Signicat's identity verification capabilities go beyond simple e-signatures to provide comprehensive Know Your Customer (KYC) and customer due diligence solutions. The platform supports multiple verification methods including electronic ID verification through national schemes, document verification using AI-powered optical character recognition and fraud detection, biometric verification through facial recognition and liveness detection, and database checks against sanctions lists, politically exposed persons (PEP) registers, and adverse media sources.
For financial institutions subject to Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations, Signicat provides end-to-end onboarding workflows that combine identity verification, document collection, risk assessment, and electronic signing into a single streamlined process. The platform's ability to verify identities across multiple European countries through a single integration is particularly valuable for banks, insurance companies, and fintech providers operating across borders. Customer conversion rates improve significantly when organizations replace manual verification processes with Signicat's digital workflows, reducing onboarding times from days to minutes.
Authentication Services
Signicat provides robust authentication services that allow organizations to verify the identity of returning users through their preferred electronic identity methods. The platform supports authentication through national eID schemes, social logins, one-time passwords, and multi-factor authentication combinations. This flexibility ensures that organizations can offer their customers convenient login options while maintaining the security level appropriate for each transaction or service.
The authentication service integrates with standard protocols including OpenID Connect and SAML, making it straightforward to connect with existing identity management infrastructure. For organizations serving customers across multiple European countries, Signicat's authentication hub eliminates the need to individually integrate with each country's identity scheme, dramatically reducing development effort and ongoing maintenance. The platform handles the complexity of different authentication protocols, certificate validation, and regulatory requirements behind a unified API.
eIDAS and Regulatory Compliance
Signicat's entire platform is built with European regulation at its core. The eIDAS regulation establishes the legal framework for electronic identification, authentication, and trust services across the EU, and Signicat is one of the most experienced providers in implementing eIDAS-compliant solutions. The platform is itself a qualified trust service provider, meaning it has been audited and approved by national supervisory bodies to issue qualified electronic signatures and seals that carry the highest legal weight across all EU and EEA member states.
Beyond eIDAS, Signicat's solutions are designed to comply with a range of regulatory frameworks including GDPR for data protection, PSD2 for strong customer authentication in payments, AMLD for anti-money laundering, and various national regulations specific to industries like banking, insurance, and healthcare. This regulatory expertise is embedded in the platform's design, with built-in compliance features that help organizations meet their obligations without requiring deep internal regulatory knowledge. For compliance officers and legal teams, Signicat provides documentation, audit trails, and evidence packages that demonstrate regulatory adherence.
EU Digital Identity Wallet Support
Signicat is actively preparing for the EU Digital Identity Wallet (EUDI Wallet), which is expected to launch across member states by 2026. The EUDI Wallet will allow EU citizens to store and present digital identity credentials, driving licenses, educational diplomas, and other verifiable credentials from their smartphones. Signicat has participated in large-scale pilots including the NOBID (Nordic-Baltic eID) pilot with the Norwegian government, demonstrating its capability to integrate wallet-based identity verification into commercial workflows.
The company's early involvement in EUDI Wallet development positions it as a key technology partner for organizations that need to accept wallet-based credentials when the system launches. Signicat is developing integration tools and APIs that will allow its customers to seamlessly verify EUDI Wallet credentials alongside existing eID methods, ensuring a smooth transition as the digital identity landscape evolves. For organizations planning their digital identity strategy, Signicat's wallet readiness provides future-proofing against the most significant change in European digital identity infrastructure in decades.
Integration and Developer Experience
Signicat provides comprehensive APIs and SDKs that enable organizations to embed identity verification, authentication, and signing into their own applications and customer journeys. The REST APIs are well-documented with code examples in multiple programming languages, and pre-built integrations are available for common platforms including Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, and various content management systems. The platform's modular architecture allows organizations to adopt individual services such as just authentication or just signing, or combine multiple services into integrated workflows.
The developer portal includes sandbox environments for testing, detailed API documentation, and sample code that accelerates integration timelines. Signicat's professional services team provides implementation support for complex deployments, and the platform's configuration options allow most customization to be done without code changes. For organizations with specific workflow requirements, the platform's orchestration engine enables the creation of custom identity journeys that combine multiple verification steps, conditional logic, and integration touchpoints.
Norwegian BankID Integration
As a Norwegian company, Signicat has deep expertise in Norwegian BankID, one of the most widely used electronic identity systems globally. Norwegian BankID is used by virtually the entire adult population of Norway for banking, government services, and commercial transactions. Signicat is managing the transition to new BankID standards, including the move from SEID SDO to PAdES-based signing formats that takes effect in 2026, ensuring its customers experience a seamless migration as the underlying infrastructure evolves.
The platform's BankID integration supports both authentication and signing, enabling organizations to verify Norwegian users' identities and obtain legally binding signatures through a familiar and trusted authentication method. For organizations operating in Norway or serving Norwegian customers, Signicat's native BankID support and deep understanding of the Norwegian identity ecosystem provide significant advantages over international competitors that treat Nordic identity as an afterthought.
Pricing and Deployment
Signicat operates on a custom pricing model tailored to each organization's specific needs, transaction volumes, and required services. Pricing typically involves a combination of platform fees and per-transaction charges for identity verifications, authentications, and signatures. While Signicat does not publish standard pricing tiers, the platform is designed to scale from mid-sized businesses to large enterprises with millions of transactions. Organizations interested in Signicat typically engage through a consultation process where requirements are assessed and a tailored proposal is developed.
The platform is delivered as a cloud service with data centers in Europe, ensuring that all processing occurs within European jurisdiction. For organizations with specific hosting requirements, dedicated deployment options may be available. Signicat's service level agreements include uptime guarantees, response time commitments, and dedicated account management for enterprise customers. The company's support team includes regulatory experts who can advise on compliance requirements and best practices for implementing digital identity solutions.
Limitations and Considerations
Signicat's custom pricing model means that smaller organizations may find it less accessible than self-service alternatives like Skribble or Yousign, which offer transparent per-signature pricing suitable for low-volume users. The platform is primarily designed for enterprise and mid-market organizations with significant identity verification and signing volumes. The breadth of features and regulatory compliance capabilities come with corresponding complexity, and organizations typically need professional services support for initial implementation.
Despite these considerations, Signicat stands as one of Europe's most comprehensive digital identity platforms. Its nearly two-decade track record, deep integration with European identity schemes, eIDAS qualified trust service provider status, and proactive preparation for the EUDI Wallet make it a strategic choice for organizations that view digital identity as a critical business capability. For enterprises in financial services, government, healthcare, and other regulated industries that need the highest levels of compliance and the broadest identity network, Signicat delivers capabilities that few competitors can match.
Alternatives to Signicat
Looking for other European e-signature solutions? Here are some alternatives worth considering:
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, Signicat is fully GDPR compliant. As a Norwegian company with European data centers, all data processing occurs within European jurisdiction. The platform is designed with privacy by design principles and provides comprehensive data processing agreements, audit trails, and evidence packages. Signicat complies with GDPR, eIDAS, PSD2, and various national regulations for data protection and electronic identification.
Signicat is headquartered in Trondheim, Norway, and was founded in 2007. The company operates across Europe with data centers located within European jurisdiction. Norway, while not an EU member state, is part of the European Economic Area (EEA) and applies GDPR through its national legislation, providing the same level of data protection as EU member states.
Signicat operates on a custom pricing model tailored to each organization's specific needs and transaction volumes. Pricing typically involves a combination of platform fees and per-transaction charges for identity verifications, authentications, and signatures. Organizations engage through a consultation process where requirements are assessed and a proposal is developed. Contact Signicat directly for a quote based on your specific use case.
Signicat is a European alternative to DocuSign and Adobe Sign for electronic signatures, and to OneSpan and Jumio for identity verification. Unlike these US-based services, Signicat is deeply integrated with European identity schemes like BankID, MitID, and itsme, and is a qualified trust service provider under eIDAS. It is particularly suited for organizations that need the highest levels of legal compliance for signatures and identity verification across European countries.
Signicat supports all three signature levels defined by the EU eIDAS regulation: simple electronic signatures (SES), advanced electronic signatures (AdES), and qualified electronic signatures (QES). Qualified electronic signatures carry the highest legal weight and are recognized across all EU member states as equivalent to handwritten signatures. Signicat achieves QES through integration with qualified trust service providers and national eID schemes.
Signicat connects to over 30 electronic identity schemes across Europe, including Norwegian BankID, Swedish BankID, Danish MitID, Finnish Trust Network, Dutch iDIN, Belgian itsme, and German eID. This extensive network allows organizations to verify identities and obtain signatures from customers across multiple European countries through a single platform integration.
Yes, Signicat provides comprehensive Know Your Customer (KYC) and identity verification services. The platform supports eID verification, AI-powered document verification, biometric verification with facial recognition and liveness detection, and database checks against sanctions lists and PEP registers. These capabilities are essential for financial institutions and other regulated organizations subject to Anti-Money Laundering (AML) requirements.
Yes, Signicat is a qualified trust service provider (QTSP) under the EU eIDAS regulation. This means the company has been audited and approved by national supervisory bodies to issue qualified electronic signatures and seals that carry the highest legal weight across all EU and EEA member states. This QTSP status distinguishes Signicat from many competitors that can only offer advanced or simple electronic signatures.
Yes, Signicat is actively preparing for the EU Digital Identity Wallet (EUDI Wallet) expected to launch across member states by 2026. The company participated in the NOBID large-scale pilot with the Norwegian government and is developing integration tools that will allow customers to verify EUDI Wallet credentials alongside existing eID methods. This early involvement positions Signicat as a key technology partner for the transition to wallet-based identity.
Signicat provides comprehensive REST APIs and SDKs for embedding identity verification, authentication, and signing into your applications. Pre-built integrations are available for platforms like Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics. The developer portal includes sandbox environments for testing, detailed API documentation, and sample code. The platform supports standard protocols including OpenID Connect and SAML for authentication integration, and professional services are available for complex deployments.