First Fully Digitised Trade Transaction Completed in Singapore

BNP Paribas and HSBC Singapore have successfully completed Singapore’s first fully digitised end-to-end letter of credit transaction between two different companies – a move that will take the digitisation of trade finance a step closer to becoming a commercial reality.

The transaction involved Rio Tinto selling a bulk shipment of iron ore originating from Australia to China for its customer Cargill. As part of the transaction, BNP Paribas issued a letter of credit (LC) over the blockchain on behalf of Cargill to HSBC Singapore acting on behalf of Rio Tinto.

Both BNP Paribas and HSBC enabled a seamless end-to-end transfer of electronic bill of lading (eBL) over traded goods using a digital LC for the first time in Singapore, by integrating the Voltron trade finance solution (through R3’s Corda blockchain platform in the back-end) with Bolero’s eBL system.