As part of initiatives under a Memorandum of Intent, SWIFT and IMDA will work with a group of leading financial institutions to support the community in its trade digitalization efforts.
The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) – a Singapore government agency that develops and regulates the infocomm and media sectors – will work with global payments messaging network SWIFT on making cross-border trade more efficient and cost-effective, an in turn create opportunities to shorten trade processing times and open up possibilities for innovation such as new trade financing offerings to the trade community.
In an announcement on Monday, IMDA said it would combine TradeTrust, an interoperability framework that connects various platforms for the exchange of digital trade documentation, with the SWIFT community.
«When paired with SWIFT’s ability to securely transport industry standardized electronic trade messaging, scanned hardcopy documentation and digitally signed assets, this will pave the way for the seamless exchange of electronic trade documents around the world,» the announcement said.
Addressing Fragmentation
«The trade ecosystem faces digital disruption and requires open standards, legal harmonization and coming together as a community to address fragmentation, friction and risks,» Alain Raes, SWIFT chief business development officer, said about the partnership.
«An interoperable industry framework coupled with the SWIFT ecosystem could accelerate recent gains that the industry has seen in digitization through a harmonized digital flow,» noted Vinay Mendonca, global head product, propositions and structuring, trade and receivables finance, HSBC.
Banks participating in this initiative include DBS Bank, Standard Chartered, J.P. Morgan and HSBC.
