DataOceans: SEC E-Delivery and Customer Communications

ALPHARETTA, Ga., August 19, 2026 - DataOceans, a leading provider of customer communications solutions for regulated industries, today said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) proposed regulation on E-Delivery reflects a broader shift in how organizations manage regulated customer communications across print, digital, and self-service channels while maintaining compliance, customer choice, and operational efficiency. 

Key Facts

• The SEC has proposed making electronic delivery the default for certain investor communications while preserving investors' ability to request paper copies.
• The proposal applies to organizations with disclosure obligations under federal securities laws, including issuers, broker-dealers, registered investment advisers, investment companies, and other SEC-regulated market participants.
• Organizations would be required to provide paper copies of electronically delivered documents from the previous two years, free of charge, within three business days of an investor's request.
• The proposal highlights the growing need to manage print and digital communications together while maintaining customer choice, document access, communication history, and governance.
• For consumer lenders, similar considerations are driving interest in secure digital delivery of time-sensitive communications such as Adverse Action (AA) letters.

If adopted, the proposal would modernize electronic delivery requirements for certain investor communications by allowing organizations to make electronic delivery the default while preserving investors’ ability to request paper copies. Under the proposal, organizations would generally be required to provide paper copies of electronically delivered documents, free of charge, within three business days of an investor’s request. This requirement would apply for the period the documents must be retained under federal securities laws. When no retention period is specified, investors could request documents delivered during the preceding two years.

The proposal applies to organizations with disclosure obligations under the federal securities laws, including issuers, broker-dealers, registered investment advisers, investment companies, and other SEC-regulated market participants. While its scope is specific, it reflects a direction that many regulated industries are already moving toward as they modernize customer communications while balancing digital adoption, customer choice, document retention, and governance.

For consumer lenders, that shift extends beyond statements and disclosures. Many organizations are exploring secure digital delivery for time-sensitive communications, such as Adverse Action (AA) letters, where speed, proof of delivery, customer access, and regulatory compliance are critical. Similar considerations are emerging across healthcare, utilities, insurance, and other regulated industries as organizations modernize how they communicate with customers.

"Many organizations think digital transformation means replacing paper with electronic delivery," said Lee Nagel, President of DataOceans. "In reality, customers expect a consistent experience regardless of how they choose to interact. Whether someone views a document online, receives it by email, accesses it through a portal, or requests a printed copy months later, organizations need confidence that every version is accurate, accessible, and governed."

The SEC proposal highlights the growing need to manage the entire communication lifecycle through a single, governed platform - whether delivering investor disclosures, billing statements, regulatory notices, Adverse Action letters, or other critical customer communications. Creating content once and delivering it consistently across print, digital, email, SMS, and self-service channels helps organizations maintain communication histories, retrieve documents on demand, and apply consistent governance, approval workflows, and version control.

Rather than viewing electronic delivery as a replacement for print, organizations should consider how every interaction fits into a connected communication strategy that supports digital engagement while continuing to meet paper fulfillment requirements when needed.

"Customer expectations continue to evolve, but so do regulatory requirements," Nagel added. "Organizations need the flexibility to support every delivery preference while maintaining control over every communication. That's what connected customer communications are really about."

As organizations continue to modernize customer engagement, the SEC proposal serves as another reminder that digital transformation is not about replacing one channel with another. It is about building communication strategies that can adapt to changing regulations, evolving customer expectations, and new delivery channels without increasing operational complexity.

View the release on PR Newswire