Ant Group unit AntChain has launched the first official cross-border blockchain-based transaction on Trusple, its new digital international trade and finance platform for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The new solution aims to make it easier for SMEs to obtain trade financing from several organizations. Through the use of blockchain technology, transactions are expected to be transparent and traceable as they will all be digitally recorded. According participating organizations on Trusple, this ability to track and trace successful transactions will create a “chain credit” that can be used by financial institutions to make informed decisions on a borrowing company’s credit-worthiness.

Presented at an event organized by Ant Group and Alipay, Trusple will work alongside five financial institutions, namely BNP Paribas, Citi, DBS, Deutsche Bank and Standard Chartered.

Member banks will offer payment guarantees for all goods traded on the platform, with the financing bank automatically dispatching payment to the seller once the buyer digitally acknowledges the receipt of goods on Trusple. This mitigates the risk of late payments and allows suppliers to enjoy greater predictability of cash flows, enabling them to optimize their working capital for strategic opportunities to grow their business.

“In the last few years, AntChain has been focusing on establishing industry benchmarks in various business scenarios to accelerate the connection between businesses on the blockchain network. We are pleased to announce today the launch of the Trusple platform with our international partners, which will support the efficient and convenient participation of SMEs in international trade,” says Guofei Jiang, president of advanced technology business group at Ant Group.

For years trade finance processes have relied on paper-based processes which are often susceptible to fraudulent activity. Thus the push for digitalization. Before the launch of Trusple, global financial hubs Hong Kong and Singapore have launched their own blockchain-based trade finance platforms, namely eTradeConnect and Networked Trade Platform respectively.  In addition, there have been a segment of technology vendors that looked to digitalize trade documentation such letters of credit and bills of lading.