Standard Chartered Bank has joined TradeLens, the blockchain enabled platform developed by Maersk and IBM, becoming the first financial institution to enter a formal agreement for use of the platform.
“As a critical link in the global supply chain ecosystem, Standard Chartered Bank plays a crucial role in supporting global trade transactions. Supply chains are continuing to become more international, drawing on many parties from around the world. Digital ecosystems have the potential to promote the sustainability agenda of many participants in international trade,” said Michael Spiegel, global head of trade at the bank.
Today, TradeLens captures millions of supply chain events and tens of thousands documents per week, having processed information on over 15m containers worldwide since its launch. TradeLens ecosystem consists of more than 150 members, including 100+ ports and terminals, 20+ ocean carriers and intermodal providers, and many government authorities. The solution has been commercially available since December 2018 and its standards-based open APIs are openly available to the entire community.
“The trade ecosystem has complex processes, slow turnaround times, high paper-based manual documentation and limited connectivity between the various parties involved and it remains a major pain point in the centuries-old trade finance industry. The partnership with TradeLens equips Standard Chartered Bank with reliable real time information to validate and protect the integrity of transactions and thus deliver fast and safe service to our clients,” said Aarthi Fernandez, global head of trade operations at Standard Chartered.
