Surecomp announced that, together with BNP Paribas and Vanderlande, it has reportedly piloted a new corporate-to-bank connectivity standard designed by Swift and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).
The Application Programming Interface (API)-based communication channel enabled Dutch logistics company Vanderlande – a key player focused on future-proof logistic process automation for the warehousing, airports and parcel sectors – to request a guarantee via Surecomp’s RIVO platform, which was transmitted securely to BNP Paribas in real-time without manual intervention.
Intended for facilitating the automation of corporate-to-bank trade finance exchange, the initiative – which leverages an XML formatted open-API message – is said to be “cost effective” to implement.
It also enhances data integrity, enables greater agility and is said to be well suited to “corporates with limited transaction volumes.”
Marie-Laurence Faure, Head of Digital Trade Channels at BNP Paribas said that this is the start of “a new and very promising journey in the digitalization of bank guarantees,”
Faure added that it is a significant industry milestone, and they invite all other trade finance stakeholders to “join this initiative for the benefit of the entire ecosystem.”
Eddy Veenstra, Customer Finance Director at Vanderlande said that taking a collaborative and standardized approach with their trade finance partners is proving “hugely valuable in helping them gain better control and visibility of our guarantees and expedite trade to enable more robust future growth.”
Enno-Burghard Weitzel, Surecomp’s Chief Solutions Officer said that their role as an industry enabler is to help shape the future of digital trade hence the importance of being “an early adopter of new standards like this one.”
Weitzel added that by using our RIVO platform as a centralized hub, banks, insurance companies and corporates “can connect in real-time and now leverage the Swift – ICC API to execute faster, more efficient guarantees, which will ultimately improve cash flow and drive trade growth.”