Fintech Contour and DBS Bank continue to push the digitalization of trade finance with the completion of the Contour network’s first fully digital end-to-end secured letter of credit (LC) between Nanjing Iron and Steel, Singapore Jinteng International, and Hope Downs Marketing Company, a joint venture between Rio Tinto and Hancock Prospecting.

With DBS Bank acting as the issuing and advising bank, and Contour partner essDOCS enabling the management of the electronic bill of lading through its CargoDocs solution, the approval of key contract terms, LC issuance, and presentation of export documents were carried out electronically from start to finish on the Contour network.

This not only resulted in reduced trade document turnaround times, but also provided greater transparency with all parties having access to real-time status updates at each step of the transaction.

“With yet another transaction pair on our network, we are showing the full scope of what a blockchain solution can offer to trade finance,” says Carl Wegner, Contour’s CEO. “This is a hugely positive sign of a changing industry - organisations are taking advantage of our technological solution and using it to transform a previously paper-based process that is outdated and unfit for purpose in the modern world.”

 “An ecosystems approach is vital to unlocking a network effect to propel trade into the digital era, and continued collaboration across businesses, banks and technology providers remains key,” adds  Sriram Muthukrishnan, DBS Bank’s group head of trade product management. “The silver lining arising from challenges faced in the current environment is a rapid acceleration and acceptance across all industries and geographies of the need to digitalize to survive and thrive in the ‘new normal’, and we expect to see more companies transitioning from analogue-based trade finance processes to digital ones in the near future.”