HSBC Launches Digital Platform for Trade Finance

HSBC has launched HSBC Trade Solutions (HTS) for customers in its two largest markets, the U.K. and Hong Kong, to simplify and speed trade.

Developed in partnership with the IT consultancy CGI, the new platform allows clients to manage all their trade finance products online, according to a Thursday (Oct. 6) press release.

Designed to digitize HSBC’s trade finance offerings using an API-native, modular tech stack, going forward, “HTS will form the backbone of HSBC’s market-leading trade offering — supporting USD800bn of global trade per year,” the bank said.

The new platform will enable the bank to embrace future change faster and more efficiently, per the release.

Going forward, the bank intends to deploy HTS in additional markets in which it operates.

“HSBC Trade Solutions has been co-created working closely with our clients and delivers a major step forward in terms of client experience,” HSBC Global Head of Trade Finance Products and Propositions Vinay Mendonca said in the press release.

“Its flexibility will power solutions to fit into our clients’ rapidly evolving ecosystems. Using such digital solutions, 88% of our trade transactions are now initiated digitally across a range of channels,” Mendonca added.

“This important solution launch is an exciting time for the marketplace and continues the strong working relationship between CGI and HSBC,” CGI Vice President for Banking and Financial Markets in the U.K. David York said in the release. “We look forward to working closely to drive positive change across a number of hugely important areas.”

Trade financing has emerged as an important frontier in the digital transformation of core banking systems in recent times. Last month, JPMorgan announced a partnership with the technology firm Cleareye.ai which sees the bank integrate Cleareye.ai’s ClearTrade platform into its Asia-Pacific trade finance transactions. The ClearTrade integration is expected to launch globally over the upcoming quarters.

See: Cleareye.ai Partners With JPMorgan to Solve Trade Finance Challenges

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