https://www.finextra.com/pressarticle/85360/standard-bank-goes-live-on-traydstream-platform
Standard Bank South Africa has become the first bank in the country to go live on the Traydstream platform. The move to Traydstream, which was completed on November 5, will create efficiencies in Standard Bank’s trade process and will continue to set it apart in the trade environment.
Traydstream digitises documents such as the Letter of Credit, Foreign Bills of Collections and Open Account Trade Finance.
The solution automates document checking, clause matching, rules and compliance verification processes using cutting edge machine learning and Optical Character Recognition technology.
“This partnership is an important first for trade at Standard Bank,” says Thandiwe Legwaila, Standard Bank Head of Trade for South Africa. “It is an integral step in our journey to provide a fully digital, trade experience to our clients. Making the move to digital platforms has become extremely important, as banks look for more efficient and productive ways of conducting business.”
Trade finance in particular faces multiple challenges such as the management of large amounts of paperwork, the co-ordination of various players within the trade ecosystem, and the growing trade finance gap. Document checking is the one aspect of the trade transaction process that can take several hours to complete.
Uzair Bawany, Traydstream Chief Revenue Officer says: “We have a strong relationship with the Standard Bank South Africa team and Standard Bank is a leading client who will help provide future functionality and features within the Traydstream platform. We are proud not just to be driving operational efficiencies at the bank but also to be playing a role in reducing the need for paper and further protecting our environment as we digitise and automate.”
In executing on Standard Bank South Africa’s trade strategy to digitally transform trade, address client needs in the ever-changing environment and achieve operational excellence, the Standard Bank South Africa Trade team has embarked on a journey of redefining the way in which it does business with its clients, Mrs Legwaila says.
“Given the current economic landscape and digital transformation of the Trade Finance business, the need for online solutions is growing significantly and is expected to increase even further. To remain abreast of your competitors, seize market opportunities and mitigate risks it is important to redesign the current offering and accelerate our digital journey.”
Traydstream improves turnaround times through automated document checking and integrated sanctions screening functionality thus enhancing the customer experience.
It also mitigates the inherent risks of manual processing through the use of the platform and uniformity across the document checking process as per the international Standard Banking Practice (ISBP) and Uniform Customs Practice (UCP) rules.
“We plan to implement the Traydstream solution across the Bank in our Africa regions and to be at the forefront of digitising trade in the African continent by offering our clients fully automated solutions as we evolve trade into a platform offering where clients can execute end-to-end transactions in a single digital environment,” says Kevin Holmes, Head Trade Product Management, Standard Bank Group.
