Last year, 32% of Lithuanian adults used qualified electronic signatures, according to a survey commissioned by the Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA). The share of people using qualified electronic signatures increased by 3 percentage points over the year.
“Since 2014, when only 6% of the Lithuanian population used qualified electronic signatures, the use of qualified electronic signatures has increased more than 5 times. The increase was particularly significant during the COVID-19 pandemic: As much as 35% of the population was using qualified electronic signatures at the start of 2020. Although the use of qualified electronic signatures is steadily increasing, there is still a significant proportion of the population (66%) who say they do not use them. In 2022, there were two main reasons for not using a qualified electronic signature: not having a place to use it and not having the electronic signature tool itself. Unfortunately, almost a quarter of the surveyed population indicated that they do not know anything about such a tool, and 14% believe that it would be too complicated for them to use such a signature,” explains Vaidotas Ramonas, Head of the Digital Services Regulatory Group at the CRA.
Compared to 2021, the number of people using an e-signature on a daily or almost daily basis remained unchanged at 14%, with 37% of respondents using a qualified e-signature at least once a week, four out of ten (41%) using it at least once a month, and 7% of respondents using it only once a year.
“There were two reasons most often given by citizens that could encourage them to start using a qualified electronic signature or encourage them to use it more than they do now. First of all, not everyone is yet aware of the practical benefits of such a signature, and there is a lack of information on its reliability and legal validity. Respondents said that more public services to be made available to citizens electronically would also encourage the use of such a signature ”, comments V. Ramonas.
Last year, the use of qualified electronic signatures was higher among people aged 30-49 (48%) and young people under 30 (41%), people living in large cities (42%), people with the highest monthly family income of more than €1,500 (52%), and people who use the internet on a daily basis (41%).
When signing with a qualified electronic signature, the most frequent signatures used the Smart ID mobile app (68%), a personal ID card (21%) or a SIM card (16%). A chip card or USB cryptographic key was used by 13% of respondents in 2022. The use of ID cards as an electronic signature tool increased by 5 percentage points during the year. However, more than half of the respondents were not aware of the possibility of using an ID card to sign with a qualified electronic signature.
“The survey shows that last year, qualified electronic signatures were the most widely used for signing transactions in e-banking systems. Next in line are signing personal electronic documents, performing necessary operations in “Sodra” or other state information systems, and signing work electronic documents”, – says V. Ramonas, Head of the Digital Services Regulatory Group at CRA.
Note that anyone interested can find more information about e-signatures and related assurance services on the website managed by the CRA www.elektroninisparasas.lt.
“The survey was carried out by “Baltijos Tyrimai” from 19-31 January 2023. 1,023 Lithuanians aged 18 and over were surveyed at 114 sampling points. The opinion of the people surveyed reflects the opinion of the Lithuanian population aged 18 and over, with a margin of error of 3.1%.
Updated on 2023-08-01