ANZ, Banco Santander, BNP Paribas, Citi, Deutsche Bank, HSBC and Standard Chartered have announced a joint initiative to build a digital "Trade Information Network" by the end of 2018. Some commentators suggest the Network could transform world trade.

The founding banks have signed a corresponding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and have agreed to work toward piloting the Network. They will introduce the Network at the SIBOS conference in Sydney, Australia, on 22 October 2018. Once operational, it will become the first inclusive global multi-bank, multi-corporate network in trade finance.

The Network aims to address the unmet demand for financing earlier in the supply chain by enabling corporates to easily and securely communicate trade information directly with banks of their choice. In order to develop a new industry standard in trade finance, the Network's approach has been validated with extensive corporate and bank engagement. In addition to the founding banks, more than 20 additional banks from around the world are actively participating in developing the Network and several corporates have already expressed an interest in participating in pilots.

Corporates will be able to submit and verify purchase orders and invoices to request trade financing from the banks of their choice. By providing those banks with access to trusted trade information, the Network will help to mitigate the risk of double financing and fraudulent trade information across the industry. This enables the relevant banks to better assess risks and provide trade financing earlier in the supply chain, including for small and medium-sized enterprises who have traditionally experienced difficulty in accessing trade finance. Banks will provide financing outside of the Network using their existing systems.

Mark Evans, managing director, transaction banking, ANZ, comments, "At ANZ, digital transformation is a key priority for us – and that includes the digitization of trade and supply chain finance. We're excited to be a founding bank for this project because it has the potential to improve the customer experience, and be adopted globally – benefitting ANZ, our customers and the industry."

The Network has open architecture and standardized connectivity based on a governance model similar to SWIFT to achieve maximum adoption across the supply chain ecosystem. Corporates will use a simple one-time registration process which will allow them to connect with all banks on the Network.

The Network selected CGI as its technology provider. The pilot version of the Network is now complete and CGI will continue to support the development of the "Trade Information Network".

Rogier Schulpen, global head trade & working capital solutions, Banco Santander, says, "Cooperation between the main trade finance banks and improving transparency of our clients' global supply chains is an obvious way to facilitate financing to SMEs around the world. Having a single platform that provides transactional data on underlying trade flows will not only enable financing, but will also stimulate further innovation in the trade finance industry."