Voltron launches blockchain-based trade finance platform

Banking cooperation Voltron has launched blockchain-based platform together with the software company R3.
The platform, which is now available to all customers of the participating banks, digitises all aspects of trade finance.
Already with the world’s first Blockchain trade finance for the global food company Cargill, HSBC has been able to reduce the soybean trade transaction from Argentina to Malaysia from the usual 5-10 days to 24 hours.
With Voltron, corporate clients cover the entire chain of trade finance: both issuing letters of credit and exchanging documents in an open network environment. In addition, commercial documents created in external networks by a company’s supply chain partners can be digitally sent, verified, and processed in Voltron.
Voltron will help banks make their funding decisions faster. At the same time, corporate clients can streamline their internal business processes by reducing coordination with trading partners and banks. In addition, it also provides the legal enforceability of documents.
The founding members of Voltron include Bangkok Bank, BNP Paribas, CTBC Holding, HSBC, ING, NatWest, SEB and Standard Chartered.
More efficient trade transactions could increase global trade by $ 1.1trn to $ 17.1trn by 2026, according to a study published by Bain & Company and HSBC entitled “Rebooting a Digital Solution to Trade Finance”.
The study assumes that trade finance through Blockchain will become increasingly important, especially in regions such as South-East Asia, Africa and Latin America. Due to risk considerations, the documentary trade transaction will continue to be important there. Here Blockchain can offer not only efficiency but also new safety standards. Bain & Company estimates $ 2 trillion additional profit by 2026 for the world’s ten largest trade financiers.