Lloyds Bank launches Paperless Guarantee solution to digitise trade finance
Lloyds Bank has broadened its portfolio of trade finance solutions by announcing its new Paperless Guarantee solution.
Lloyds Bank launches Paperless Guarantee solution
The solution seeks to support businesses that work with large volumes of transactions with the digital issuance of bank guarantees, including direct guarantees and standby letters of credit.
According to Lloyds, this not only enables the “instant” delivery of recipients when trading, but also offers businesses a means to “trade more efficiently, safely and securely”.
And given that trade finance results in around 28.5 billion pieces of paper moving around the world each year, as per data from the UK Government, Lloyds’ digital alternative seeks to afford its clients the opportunity to reduce their carbon footprint too.
Having successfully completed its first digital trade transaction under the UK’s new Electronic Trade Documents Act (ETDA), which came into force last month, the introduction of Lloyds’ latest solution marks its most recent attempt to digitalise the trade process.
The bank most notably formed a partnership with the Swedish data technology company Enigio and its trace:original solution in April to further expand its exploration of digital documentation in trade finance.
Speaking on the launch of its Paperless Guarantee solution this week, the bank’s head of lending, trade and working capital, Gwynne Master, explains that its collaboration with its business clients and their buyers and seller has afforded “a deep understanding of the nuances and challenges of trading internationally”.
“Our latest development, the Paperless Guarantee initiative, offers clients a solution to some of those challenges,” she continues, claiming that removing the need for the physical delivery of paper is “the future of trade”.
