Citi India Completes First Blockchain Enabled LC
By Laxmikant Khanvilkar
After six-months of Citi’s Bangladesh unit successfully completing its first paperless trade finance deal, Citi India has achieved a new milestone in the field of digital trade finance network.
Citi India has completed its first blockchain-enabled Letter of Credit (LC) transaction on ‘Contour’ for its client Cummins India, a diversified industrials manufacturing company.
The transaction – a first for both Cummins and Citi India on Contour, a global digital trade finance network, powered by blockchain technology, that enables multiple parties – banks, corporates, and logistic partners – to collaborate seamlessly and securely in real-time on a single platform.
Citi is a founding member bank of Contour.
Contour’s decentralised global trade finance network has proven that LC processing time can fall by as much as 90%.
Under the LC, document presentation usually takes 5-10 days, while for Cummins it was completed in three hours.
This marked the first domestic end-to-end blockchain-enabled LC transaction completed on Contour.
It has been Citi’s top priority to simplify trade processes and reduce transaction time, as well as provide clients access to trade financing and working capital solutions, through digital platforms.
Platforms such as Contour bring together multiple partners involved in a trade transaction while eliminating the need for paper-heavy documentation and is a critical enabler of trade digitisation.
Citi, through its Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS) business in India, served as both LC Advising and Issuing Bank.
Meanwhile, Citi Bangladesh first blockchain-enabled paperless process using an electronic bill of lading (eBL) on TradeLens platform was completed in 10 days as against expected processing time of 20 to 25 days.
Digitalisation is surely helping to reduce time while enabling paperless or electronic bill settlement processing in a seamless manner.
You need to login in order to Like
