Standard Chartered, Huawei Turn To IoT For Smarter Trade Finance

Standard Chartered is collaborating with Huawei on enhancing trade finance through Internet of Things (IoT) technology.

Reports in Global Trade Review on Wednesday (Oct. 17) said the bank and technology conglomerate are working on an application that will allow Standard Chartered to track goods in real-time as they move through the supply chain. That ability can automatically trigger payment instructions or financing to streamline trade finance and payments in the global trading process.

The companies are developing ways to connect supply-chain-related objects, like cargo, to IoT devices for real-time location tracking. The information gathered from these IoT-connected items can support greater visibility into the delivery process, supply chain risks and more.

The solution uses Huawei’s IoT platform OceanConnect, which supports cloud computing and Big Data analytics.

“Technology can change the fundamental way we do banking,” said Dr. Michael Gorriz, group CIO of Standard Chartered, in a statement. “We found in Huawei a strong partner [that] shares our passion to transform the way we would like to support our clients, and make banking seamless and effortless for them through the application of cutting-edge Internet of Things technology.”

In another statement, Qiu Lei, vice president of marketing and product solution sales at Huawei Enterprise Business Group, also emphasized the role of technology in addressing key points of friction on the global market, adding that the company chose to work with Standard Chartered for its “strong determination and great vision.”

Standard Chartered’s collaboration with Huawei follows days after Forrester Research released a report on IoT investment, finding that supply chain management is a key driver of investment in the technology. Inventory management and supply chain landed as the top use cases for IoT applications, researchers found, more than smart products, smart buildings and fleet management.