While many consumers seem to crave and almost instantly purchase the latest technology, the same can't always be said for businesses – including credit unions. It's prudent to be cautious, but when credit unions don't keep up with proven tools that help them better serve members, time and money are quickly lost.

One such tool is the e-signature, which not only makes it more convenient for members to do business with their credit union but also eases compliance burdens, improves efficiency and saves money. Here's how to approach e-signature adoption in the credit union industry:

Research the different types of e-signatures. The first step in fostering adoption is getting the right e-signature solution. A simple Google search will reveal a large selection of e-signature vendors. To help narrow down your search results, divide them into the two main categories of e-signatures: Independent and dependent.

• Independent e-signatures and their cryptographic information (the data used to verify the e-signatures) are permanently embedded in signed documents. This means that advisors have complete ownership and control of their documents, transparency through a comprehensive audit trail, longevity due to published standards and safety through heightened ownership and control. Because of third-party regulations and steep security needs, independent e-signatures are an ideal fit for credit unions.

• Dependent e-signatures link back to the e-signature vendor for verification, and they also can't be verified offline. That's because dependent e-signatures' legal evidence remains stored on a vendor's server – which also means you won't have complete ownership and control of that evidence. They also may be based on proprietary standards and may not be valid long-term.

Prepare for any questions that may arise from your members. Although e-signatures are convenient and easy to use, your members may not be initially comfortable with a swipe of a finger or a click of a mouse versus a traditional pen-to-paper signature.