Due to recent technological trends that influence the commercial, financial and any other type of activities, new methods and tools have been developed that facilitate the agility of administrative and commercial processes through the access to the use of pre-printed signatures and electronic signatures.

In Nicaragua the development of the Legal System that regulates digital signatures begins with Law No. 729 "Electronic Signature Law", published on August 30, 2010, in La Gaceta, Diario Oficial No. 165 and subsequently its Rules and Regulations published on November 8, 2011, in La Gaceta, Diario Oficial No. 211. This document establishes that the certified electronic signature will have the same legal value as the handwritten signature as long as the will of the parties to carry out the legal business by this means is demonstrated and the electronic signature will not be used in cases of family law, personal acts, dispositions by causes of death and those acts that are carried out under the formalities required by law.

On May 19, 2015, the Superintendency of Banks and Other Financial Institutions approved the " Regulation on pre-printed signatures in Contracts Containing Financial Operations", Resolution No. CDSIBOIF-890-1-MAY19-2015, published in La Gaceta, Diario Oficial No. 116 dated June 23, 2015. This regulation focused on banking law authorized banks and other financial entities to use the pre-printed signature of their legal representative or the natural person previously authorized to sign the document. This document establishes that the pre-printed signature may only be used in the following contracts:

  • Personal credit contracts in which no collateral is agreed, including credit card transactions;
  • Bank account contracts (savings and current);
  • Contracts for the opening of fixed-term deposit certificates;
  • Compulsory motor vehicle liability insurance policies; Compulsory civil liability insurance policies for motor vehicles with foreign registration; and;
  • Mass insurance and micro insurance operations referred to in the regulations governing these matters.

In the case of Microfinance Institutions, on October 27, 2020, the National Microfinance Commission approved the "Regulation on the use of pre-printed signature in Contracts and its annexes in Microfinance Operations", Resolution No. CD-CONAMI-021-01OCT27-2020, published on November 11, 2020, in La Gaceta, Diario Oficial No. 209. This document establishes that the pre-printed signature may only be authorized in contracts, payment plans, and informative summary of operations related to microfinance for an amount equal to or less than US$1,000.00 or its equivalent in crdobas, in which no guarantees of any real estate rights are agreed upon.

Currently, Resolution No. CD-SIBOIF-890-1-MAY19-2015 on "Regulation on pre-printed signatures in Contracts Containing Financial Operations" was repealed by Resolution No. CD-SIBOIF-1317-1JUN14-2022, "Regulation on pre-printed or electronically printed signature in documents containing financial operations or services", approved on June 14, 2022 by the Superintendency of Banks and Other Financial Institutions and published on July 1, 2022 in La Gaceta, Diario Oficial No. 121, which authorizes financial institutions to use pre-printed or electronically printed signatures in documents containing financial operations or services in order to speed up the attention to the users of the financial system and enhance the commercialization of financial products of massive placement.