For businesses seeking to collect payments and signatures as part of the same agreement process – and for the 65%* that experience payment delays or a failure to collect altogether – DocuSign, the eSignature and Digital Transaction Management (DTM) leader, today announced its latest platform innovation: DocuSign Payments.

Slated for release early next year in partnership with international payment processor Stripe – and supported by Apple, Google and Authorize.net – DocuSign Payments saves time and effort by providing a fast and easy way to collect payments and signatures in just one step.

This delivers a superior customer experience, instant payment, and an error free contract-to-payment process. At launch, the pre-built integration with Stripe will give customers the option to use Apple Pay, Android Pay or any major credit card; PayPal, Authorize.net and other payment options will follow soon after.

The use cases for DocuSign Payments are practically limitless – apartment lease agreements, insurance policies, contractor services, mobile phone purchases, car registration renewals, hotel stays, car rentals or leases, accounting and tax preparation, among many others.

“After years of market research, extensive platform development, and in partnership with leading payments providers, we’re announcing DocuSign Payments today,” said Keith Krach, chairman and CEO at DocuSign. “This strategic initiative will offer significant incremental value to more than 250,000 companies and 100 million users who will be able to DocuSign and pay in one easy step as part of the DocuSign Global Trust Network.”

DocuSign has helped its customers come to agreement – 100% digitally – for years. Over that time, a vast majority noted that collecting signatures and payments together was a huge challenge – the steps are disjointed and it can have a material impact on a company’s bottom line.

“In response, we dedicated extensive resources to platform development, we partnered with Stripe, and we sourced the support of Apple, Google and Authorize.net, all to help create the new Payments service we are announcing today,” noted Ron Hirson, chief product officer, DocuSign.

“We know there are multiple payment options available for almost all forms of purchases. And we wanted to make that same fast, easy, secure all-digital experience available whenever you electronically sign an agreement.”

Adding payments into the existing signing process is simple and straightforward. After a brief, one-time setup to connect DocuSign with an existing payment gateway – or sign up for one right within DocuSign – a sender simply adds a payment tag to their contract or agreement, and sends.

When the signer receives and signs the document, they then have the option to pay with a credit card or a mobile wallet such as Apple Pay or Android Pay in as many as 130 currencies. Funds are collected immediately.

“It should be easy to pay for anything online—whether that’s for a pair of shoes, a cab ride, or now a contract that is being signed,” said Cristina Cordova, the head of business development at Stripe. “We’re excited to work closely with DocuSign to make it possible to easily and securely accept payments from anyone, anywhere in the world, whether they're on a desktop or mobile device.”

For its part, Google wants to make it easier for businesses to offer simpler, faster in-app payment solutions for their customers.

“By including Android Pay as one of the key options in the new DocuSign Payments functionality, people will be able to speed through the sign-and-pay process with their Android phones in as few as two clicks – a real benefit for people looking to quickly sign, make payments and move on,” said Pali Bhat, global head of payment products at Google.

With DocuSign Payments entering a limited beta testing phase ahead of launch next year, many different types businesses and non-profit organisations have shown interest.

“Since our entire organisation is run by volunteers – all of whom have day jobs – time is one of our most valuable resources. Because of this, we are always looking for new efficiencies,” explained Alex Monahan, executive director at Last Hope K9 Rescue – an all-breed rescue center for abandoned dogs in Boston, MA.

“Combining our adoption contracts with a payment solution would save considerable time with each adoption. And with more than 1,000 adoptions a year, we can allocate this time in a way that will directly impact the number of dogs’ lives that we can help save – which, after all, is our core mission.”

“As a small independent insurance agency, we process a large number of transactions – and whenever we can reduce the number of processing steps, our customer service and profitability improve,” said Rob Martinek, principal of Martinek Insurance Services in Nashville, TN.

“Our particular challenge is that customers purchase policies by signing the insurance application, but our payment collection is a separate, manual process. We often see delays in the sending of payments, resulting in policy cancellations and a reinstatement process. With DocuSign, signatures and payment can be collected in a single step – problem solved.”

Yale Management Services Inc., a property management company servicing more than 4,000 units in the greater Los Angeles area, has similar issues.

“With the large number of properties we look after, you can imagine the challenges of ensuring rents are paid (often by paper check), banked and managed on a monthly basis,” said Rick Kaufman, president of Yale Management Services Inc.

“By signing a lease with DocuSign and collecting the monthly payments electronically, we’ll be able to limit almost all those hassles. DocuSign Payments will make the process of renting out a home or apartment faster and easier for everyone.”