PYMNTS-MonitorEdge-May-2024

Fides and Mitigram Partner to Improve Communication in Trade Finance Ecosystem

Trade Finance

Fides Treasury Services and Mitigram have partnered to centralize and simplify global multibank connectivity and transaction communications, enabling clients to better manage their trade finance operations.

This collaboration brings together Fides’ capabilities in multibank connectivity, payments and transaction communications and Mitigram’s digital trade finance offerings, the companies said in a Monday (Sept. 9) press release.

“This partnership represents a significant step forward in the digital transformation of trade finance, allowing businesses to connect more effectively and manage their operations with greater transparency and ease,” Philip Anklin, chief growth officer at Fides, said in the release.

Mitigram CEO Pedram Tadayon added in the release that the partnership will enable better communication across the trade finance ecosystem.

“As industries like commodities and manufacturing continue to embrace digitalization, this partnership will play a crucial role in enhancing connectivity and data accessibility, ultimately building stronger relationships between businesses and financial institutions,” Tadayon added.

This partnership will also provide clients with seamless connectivity to Swift so that they can access a wide range of banks and more easily set up bank identifier codes for multibank integration, according to the release.

In another recent development in this space, Drip Capital said Thursday (Sept. 5) that it secured $113 million in new funding to develop new products and to accelerate the growth of its digital platform for trade finance.

Drip Capital currently collaborates with more than 9,000 sellers and buyers in more than 100 countries, helping small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) manage their cash flows and working capital. In the past eight years, the company has financed over $6 billion in trade transactions.

On Tuesday (Sept. 3), Lloyds Bank launched a collaboration with artificial intelligence (AI) platform Cleareye.ai, saying they will use AI to streamline processing and compliance checking for trade finance documentation.

The technology will use optical character recognition (OCR), machine learning and natural language processing algorithms to extract information from trade documentation and carry out automated examinations of documents.

Another partnership in this area was announced in August, when Citi and International Finance Corp. (IFC) teamed up on a $2 billion sustainable supply chain finance program focused on emerging markets.

PYMNTS-MonitorEdge-May-2024