Interview published in Forbes Serbia
Electronic contract signing and paperless operations have become one of the central themes of digital transformation in the financial sector in recent years. Yet the moment a contract is signed electronically, a further and more complex question opens up: what does the document's full digital journey look like after the signature?
The Serbian market is now entering a new phase in the development of connected digital operations, linking electronic signing, regulatory processes, digital trust models and enterprise operating systems. For that reason, the focus of digitalisation is no longer the electronic signature alone, but the ability of organisations to bring documentation, processes and regulatory flows together into a single, sustainable operating model.
We spoke about the next phase of digital business in the leasing industry with Slobodan Vujasinović, Sales Director at Egzakta.
Is electronic signing enough today for a fully digital business?
The electronic signature is an important step in digitalisation, but it is not the end of the process. The moment a contract is signed electronically, its real digital journey begins: operational processing, regulatory procedures, integration with external systems, long-term retention of documentation and maintaining the legal validity of the document over time.
A digital contract is no longer an electronic version of a paper document. It becomes the central business artefact of the entire operational process.
What happens in practice after a contract is signed electronically?
In practice, this is precisely where the biggest operational challenges arise today. The document passes through different systems, regulatory procedures, departments and external services, while organisations try to maintain processing speed, regulatory compliance and full control over the document's onward journey, all at the same time.
In the leasing industry this currently involves a whole chain of connected activities: managing documentation and business workflows, registration in the Serbian Business Registers Agency (APR) registers, data exchange with Ministry of the Interior systems, and preserving the long-term legal validity of electronically signed documentation.
Processes of this kind require different business and regulatory systems to be connected into a single, controlled operational flow.
How important is it today to connect different business and regulatory systems?
Modern digital business is no longer a question of an individual application or an isolated system. Organisations increasingly function as connected operational ecosystems, in which documentation, business processes, regulatory systems and various applications have to work as a single whole.
The ability to connect different systems and functional layers is becoming one of the key factors in an organisation's operational agility.
The Serbian market already has its first production examples of paperless processes in the leasing industry, including electronic contract signing, APR registration and digital data exchange with external systems. With that, the digital contract becomes, for the first time, the central business artefact of the entire operational process.
Do connected operating models mean replacing existing systems?
Not necessarily. Organisations today are generally not looking to replace their existing business systems. They are looking for the ability to build more flexible operational layers around them, layers that allow business processes to evolve faster and adapt more easily to regulatory and market change.
Existing business systems remain the foundation of an organisation's operations, while additional functional layers are developed through systems for document management, business process management, integration and the automation of operational flows.
This matters particularly in industries going through intensive regulatory and operational change, such as the financial sector and the leasing industry.
Are markets across the region following the same trends?
Absolutely. Regional markets have been developing paperless operating models intensively in recent years, based on eIDAS principles, qualified electronic signatures and digital trust services.
Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria already have well-developed regulatory and technological frameworks for digital business, while the Serbian market is entering a new phase of connected digital operations by linking electronic signing, regulatory processes and enterprise operating systems.
What I find particularly interesting is that the market no longer stops at electronic signing. It is moving into a far more complex phase of connecting regulatory processes, document flows, the security of digital models and operating systems.
Where do you see the role of AI technologies in the next phase?
Artificial intelligence is becoming a very important capability within existing business processes. In enterprise environments, however, AI is increasingly seen not as an isolated technology but as part of the existing operational ecosystem.
Document processing, risk assessment and business process automation are particularly interesting directions, where AI models are connected with existing business rules, document flows and workflow systems.
At the same time, in the financial sector, questions of regulatory compliance, data security and alignment with GDPR and internal organisational rules carry particular weight. That is why organisations increasingly look for models that allow controlled and secure use of AI technologies within their existing enterprise environment, including on-premise infrastructure models.
What will be the key competitive advantage for financial organisations in the years ahead?
Financial organisations today are no longer looking only for faster processing. They want models that simultaneously increase operational agility, regulatory control and the long-term sustainability of digital business. Organisations that successfully connect regulatory processes, digital trust models and intelligent automation will hold a significant operational advantage in the years to come.
Because the next phase of digital business will not be defined by individual applications, but by the ability of organisations to build connected, controlled and sustainable digital operating ecosystems.
