Singapore-based Fintech firms Green Link Digital Bank (GLDB) and 129Knots have launched a global embedded finance initiative targeting liquidity gaps in the marine fuel sector, aiming to bring structured financing to an industry traditionally underserved by conventional credit providers.
The partnership will leverage 129Knots’ Origination-to-Distribution (OTD) platform to provide working capital lines to eligible borrowers across the global marine fuel value chain, the companies said in a joint statement.
This initiative introduces a liquidity framework specifically designed for the marine sector, offering institutional-grade financing, receivables structuring, and programmable credit products directly embedded into transaction workflows.
The platform will initially focus on marine fuel procurement, a segment that represents one of the largest operational costs for shipping companies, often three to five times greater than a vessel’s capital expenditure across its lifecycle.
Despite this, marine fuel expenses have largely been excluded from traditional financing models, leaving a multibillion-dollar liquidity gap.
“The marine fuel industry has long relied on fragmented financing and informal credit, limiting transparency and scale,” said Vikash Dhanuka, Founder and Group CEO of 129Knots. He added:
Together with GLDB, we are enabling capital to move seamlessly across this value chain. This partnership solves the perennial problem of credit accessibility in the marine fuel industry.
The OTD platform is designed to scale beyond marine fuels, eventually supporting procurement in alternative fuels, energy transition financing, and long-term capital expenditures, per the announcement.
Future product offerings may include stablecoin-based settlements and programmable payment instruments aimed at improving transparency and efficiency across procurement, financing, and settlement layers.
Melvin Teo, CEO of Green Link Digital Bank, said the initiative is aligned with the bank’s focus on embedded finance. He said:
Through Embedded Financing partnership with 129Knots, we are breaking down traditional barriers and embedding financial solutions right where businesses operate.
The collaboration represents a step toward building a new asset class in the marine sector, with the potential to attract institutional capital and bring scale and structure to an industry reliant on informal funding channels.