Yesterday, Standard Chartered bank announced it is joining the TradeLens blockchain container shipping platform.
Jointlydeveloped by IBM and Maersk, TradeLens aims to digitize the containershipping industry and enable transparency in supply chains.Currently, transport and trade of goods are costly and time-consumingdue to reliance on paper-based processes. By using blockchain,participants can securely share information and collaborate using asingle platform.
“Thetrade ecosystem has complex processes, slow turnaround times, highpaper-based manual documentation and limited connectivity between thevarious parties involved and it remains a major pain point in thecenturies-old trade finance industry,” said said Aarthi Fernandez,COO Trade, Singapore & South East Asia and Global Head of TradeOperations, Standard Chartered Bank.
TheTradeLens blockchain platform integrates IoT devices to measurephysical aspects such as temperature and container weight, amongother things. The platform is trying to bring cargo owners, freightforwarders, rail and trucking providers, ports, terminals, oceancarriers, customs, and other government authorities onto a singleplatform.
Sinceits launch, TradeLens has processed 15 million containers worldwide,and now has a network of 150 members. The platform has five ofthe topsix ocean carriers asmembers, who represent over half the world’s container cargocapacity.
Forthe bank, TradeLens provides access to the data that underpins someof its trade finance business.
“Thepartnership with TradeLens equips Standard Chartered Bank withreliable real-time information to validate and protect the integrityof transactions and thus deliver fast and safe service to ourclients,” Fernandez added.
Meanwhile,Standard Chartered is also part of several blockchain initiativesacross the globe. The bank is one of the founders of the VoltronLetter of Credit blockchain, recently renamed as the Contour tradefinance network.
Lastyear, StanChart supported IFFCOSingapore totest its trade finance blockchain platform. The bank was alsoinvolved in financing a cross-bordertransaction fora shipment of chickpeas from Australia to Singapore.
StanChartis a founding member off the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s(HKMA) eTradeConnect platformand is also a member of the MarcoPolo blockchaintrade finance network.
