Empowering Corporate Treasurers through Trade Finance Automation

1. What are the key challenges businesses face today with regards to trade and supply chain finance?

Global trade is the lifeblood of the modern economy, yet executing a trade transaction has remained complex and cumbersome, relying on the exchange of multiple paper documents between multiple parties. This manual process creates an inefficient, error-prone and risky business, leading to unnecessary delays and cost which can significantly impact the supply chain. A decentralized trade finance process across multiple banking partners also gives rise to challenges around lack of visibility and control of credit lines and liquidity, which again can be risky.

2. Why should businesses digitize their trade finance process now?

According to the ICC UK, the average UK trade transaction takes 2-3 months which is simply too long. But now, with industry bodies such as the ICC lobbying intensively, legislative support in the form the UK Electronic Trade Documents Act (ETDA) and Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records (MLETR), and the presence of innovative technologies like ours, there is no good reason why corporates should still be suffering these trade-based delays and risk to their business.

3. How does Surecomp contribute to the automation of trade finance, and what specific digital solutions has the company developed to streamline trade finance operations?

Surecomp is on a mission to enable seamless, sustainable trade for companies of every size, not just the large MNCs, but the SMEs who often face challenges around securing financial support. We have been a dedicated trade finance solution provider for nearly forty years, and through working with hundreds of banks and corporates across the globe, we understand that the key to achieving this goal is through removing barriers and fostering collaboration. Our RIVO™ platform has been designed to do just that; it is a centralized digital hub through which companies and their banking partners can communication in real-time to execute a trade finance transaction in the most efficient, collaborative way.

4. Can you share examples of successful collaborations between Surecomp and companies in Europe?

One large multinational based in the Nordics needed support to gain better global control and visibility of their bank guarantees and credit facilities across fifty countries. Using RIVO™ they now have a centralized, structured process in place with clear workflows, standardized data reliability and real-time, secure accessibility across multiple regions. As a result they have improved productivity in a number of European countries and by empowering them to streamline their operations, they can focus on growth and efficiency. RIVO™ is their single and global platform for all guarantee tracking and related activity, with real-time bank connectivity and full visibility of credit lines and utilization.

Another company experienced a lack of global visibility and typical time lag of three weeks to be issued a guarantee. With several hundred million euros worth of credit with seven banks – each one requiring its own guarantee application process – a small treasury team of six, and an extensive global network of over one hundred suppliers and buyers of varying size, they recognized the decentralized process needed to change. They sought to create a frictionless, collaborative guarantee process that is easy and transparent for everyone to use. As well as digital bank communication and document exchange, RIVO™ is also providing integration to their treasury management system (TMS), central approval management and amendment, real-time notifications, credit limit and fee management. It will also in the future incorporate guarantee bidding, allowing them to view price comparisons and choose the best price from their banking partners.

5. How does Surecomp ensure that its solutions align with the ever-evolving trade finance landscape?

As an established, award-winning solution provider, Surecomp is recognized for its depth of both domain and technical expertise. Through our open and collaborative approach, we work closely with industry bodies, regulators and other trade techs in the market to ensure we are aligned with industry requirements and standards. Our customers though are really the driving force and we make it a core component of our research and development to consult with them regularly on their key challenges and needs. It is through understanding their business, that we can ensure we are delivering the best possible solutions to address the challenges of companies large and small, and why RIVO™ is a SaaS solution for fast onboarding and cost efficiency, making it equally accessible to smaller companies and easy to scale-up over time as transaction volumes grow.

6. What key takeaway or advice would you offer to both large and mid-sized corporates seeking to embark on or enhance their digital trade finance journey?

There are more and more companies out there leveraging technology to end the pains of the paper trail and restore their trust in trade. So, I would make two suggestions; consult with your peers and your banking partners – speak to counterparts to understand the value first-hand and hear what approach the took. Secondly, just try it. The framework is in place, the regulatory support, the technology, the banks, you just need to select a couple of friendly trading partners and ask them to test exchanging trade documents digitally and see what happens. You might just find a faster, simpler, more sustainable process that leads to better trade relations and growth.