Consortia 2019 – London

Consortia 2019 is the first international conference bringing together the major consortiums pioneering blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT) for trade and receivables finance to the business and financial community.

In the coming years it is expected that blockchain transactions in trade and receivables finance will become the norm and according to consultants Bain and Company, may increase global trade volumes by $1.1 trillion and increase annual banking revenues by 25% which equates to $2 billion.

Despite Blockchain and trade and receivables finance being one of the most talked about subject in recent months, many individuals who could be affected by it – those in trade finance banks, logistics companies, credit insurers, factoring companies, are still keen to find out more of the precise workings and differences between the many banking consortiums set up to enable blockchain (or distributed ledger technology) financing. Consortiums, such as we.trade, Marco Polo, Voltron and Komgo, all address different aspects of trade and receivables finance and work in different ways. For example, Marco Polo’s aim is to facilitate open account trade by financing both pre- and post-shipment; whereas We.Trade’s focus is to make trade facilitation easier and to finance SMEs; Voltron is involved in in the digitisation of documentary trade; and Komgo’s purpose is in enabling seamless data communication between commodity trade partners. And while both Marco Polo and Voltron use Corda technology, We.Trade uses Hyperledger Fabric and Komgo uses Etherium.

While the consortiums are keen to attract new followers, there are a number of issues and questions to be addressed by prospective bank members as well as other stake holders such as corporates, credit insurers and logistics companies:

• At what stage in development are each of the consortiums and what are they offering?
• What are their core differences?
• What are their future plans?

In addition to these most fundamental questions there are more operational aspects that require airing, such as:

• How will the consortiums connect, or interoperate with each other?
• What are the costs involved?
• What are the details of real-life example transactions so far?
• What is the state of play with developing standards and governance?

Blockchain and DLT offers revolutionary technologies in the trade and receivables finance sector, perhaps becoming the norm in the near future and making transactions faster, more secure, and cheaper. But understanding exactly what is on offer is key to assessing suitability and strategy in this rapidly developing sector.

Consortia 2019 will provide a forum for the consortiums and their prospective partners and other interested parties which will showcase and evaluate their development and future. Consortia 2019 will provide opportunity for discussion on how blockchain and DLT are impacting trade finance and the business opportunities these new technologies offer to banks, funders, SMEs, government bodies, trade bodies and corporates etc.

With case studies of live transactions, examples of POCs and insights from the leading consortiums, Consortia 2019 is not an event to be missed.