Investing in Notarize, the Leading Online Notarization Platform

Every year over 1.25 billion notarizations are completed in the US alone. Notarization exists to reduce fraud and build certainty and trust in the underlying document. In some cases states mandate notarization to protect consumers, and in others industries adopt notarizations to reduce fraud. In every case, the notarial act creates a trusted, durable document. When furnished in court, a notarization is evidence that the proper person signed, understood, and consented. For such a crucial and common process, however, notarization has not evolved despite the steady drumbeat of technological disruption happening around us.

The traditional notarization procedure requires both sides of a transaction to meet with a third party in person to physically consent, sign, and seal their documents with a literal stamp of approval. In an age when businesses can be set up and run remotely with nothing more than a laptop and an internet connection, we were surprised to learn that most notarizations still rely on pens and paper.

Notarizations could not be completed online until a state-level legislative change happened in Virginia in 2012, and then only via notaries commissioned in the state of Virginia. That lack of digitization made the traditional process a bottleneck, because notarizations are often a key final step in high-value transactions across the automotive, banking, real estate, legal, and insurance industries. Enterprises have traditionally had to hire in-house notaries or make customers find notaries of their own―options that are inconvenient, time-consuming, and often costly.

This problem and the status quo of in-person notarizations became heavily amplified due to COVID, as transactions were suddenly restricted to the virtual realm. As a result, Citi Ventures started to explore companies that could solve this problem for large enterprises such as ourselves―and Notarize came up in almost every conversation.

Notarize CEO Pat Kinsel’s enthusiasm is infectious and so is his vision to change an industry. Pat and the Notarize team started solving this problem more than six years ago, so they were uniquely situated to address and solve the surging demand for remote online notarization services. When Pat told us these volumes were likely to increase ~10x in 2020, we had to learn more.

Over the last six years, Notarize had been building a fully compliant, best-in-class online notarization platform that connects users by live video to commissioned electronic notaries. What was screamingly apparent from the first product demo was how far ahead of the competition Notarize is as a product. Its technology lets all parties involved connect and complete their transaction in mere minutes, at any time of day, from anywhere in the country (or the world if you have a U.S. Social Security number). The platform can be accessed by smartphone, tablet, or computer, and has enterprise-grade security for handling sensitive consumer data. Notarize offers API integrations that enable enterprises to automate workflows in a fully-compliant manner.

We continue to be struck by Notarize’s depth of both talent and diligence. Notarization is legislated at the state level, so evolving the process required the company to spend years going state-to-state in an effort to update antiquated, analog regulations. It’s an intimidating problem to solve, one that dissuaded most others from attempting it. Pat and his team aren’t like most others, however—which is why they can now point to 34 new laws and many first-ever government approvals as part of the trail they’ve blazed in developing Notarize as the pioneer and clear leader in remote online notarization.

When the pandemic brought the Notarize vision into focus for the rest of the world, the company was ready for action. The results were astounding: revenue grew by over 600% in 12 months and the company had outstanding performance across every measurable metric. As the market and additional industries continue to digitize, we believe that Notarize will continue to lead the delivery of trust in every transaction.

We’re thrilled to announce our role in supporting this continued growth for Notarize with an investment in their recent Series D fundraising round, alongside Canapi Ventures, CapitalG, Wells Fargo, and True Bridge Partners as well as existing investors Camber Creek, Ludlow Ventures, NAR’s Second Century Ventures, and Fifth Wall Ventures.

By partnering with Notarize, financial institutions have the opportunity to enhance the notarization process that touches many aspects of operations as a financial enterprise—delivering improved service for diverse clients from individuals to institutions. We’re also confident that our world’s increasingly digital-first future offers vast, fertile ground beyond notary services for remote activities that demand similar trust and security to ensure secure commerce on the internet. These are the early innings, and we are excited for the future of Notarize.

For more information, email Charley Howe at charles.howe@citi.com or Blaze O’Byrne at blaze.obyrne@citi.com.