CoSign Electronic Signature Solution Kicks-off FIFA eInvoice Solution

FIFA (Federation International de Football), the world football’s (soccer) governing body, has purchased CoSign®, Algorithmic Research's (ARX) electronic signature appliance to electronically sign scanned invoices.

CoSign, a turnkey digital signature solution, enables users to easily and securely replace handwritten signatures, sealing invoices within FIFA's Hummingbird Enterprise DM (Document Management) system with a simple click of the mouse.

CoSign's Electronic signature for eInvoices solution, which can electronically sign numerous invoices in bulk, provides simple and trustworthy electronic signatures that enable organizations to instantly complete their e-invoicing process.

"As CoSign provides standard-based electronic signatures, the document signing process works smoothly with FIFA's archive solution," says Daniel Kieser, Information Systems Architect, FIFA. "Using CoSign’s out-of-the-box functionality with our existing infrastructure allows us to expedite the signing process."

"The switch from paper-based invoices to electronic invoices and archives is seen as a significant one by FIFA and we anticipate it will both increase quality and reduce effort of the invoice processing," says Kieser.

According to Peter Zingg, Senior Manager at ELCA, ARX's new Swiss-based partner and the company responsible for the implementation, the incoming invoices are first scanned and then run through an OCR (Optical Character Recognition) solution. The invoices are then electronically signed by CoSign. Accounting and approval information is then added to the invoice which is re-signed by CoSign (replacing the first signature) and archived.

"ELCA has used CoSign's Signature API (SAPI®) for easy integration of TIFF image signing into their application," says Ari Seror, Director of professional Services at ARX. "This enabled ELCA to include electronic signatures without concern for the management of certificates and keys, or to learn complex APIs."

FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) is the world governing body of football (soccer), and all forms of football, including futsal, women's football and youth football.

The (men's) World Cup is its biggest event, both in terms of money and prestige.

FIFA was formed in Paris 1904 with seven members, and has since expanded to 207 member associations.

FIFA, via its executive committee, controls virtually every aspect of football, from the laws of the game to disciplinary matters; from refereeing to the organisation of the World Cup.

FIFA's mission is to "Make The Game Better, Take It To The World and Make The World A Better Place."

For further information: www.fifa.com.