Infosys Finacle with Hatton National Bank to influence blockchain-based trade finance in Sri Lanka

Infosys Finacle, part of EdgeVerve Systems has announced that Hatton National Bank (HNB), a leading private sector commercial bank operating in Sri Lanka, has selected Finacle Trade Connect to enable a blockchain-based domestic and cross-border trade finance network. The Finacle Trade Connect solution will be used by HNB to pilot a trade network with other corresponding banking partners and its corporate clients. The network is expected to help HNB and other participating entities substantially increase automation and transparency, while efficiently managing risks in trade and supply chain financing operations.

Finacle Trade Connect will help digitize trade finance business processes, including validation of ownership, certification of documents etc., while working on a distributed, trusted and shared network.

Along with higher automation and increased transparency, banks will gain real-time availability of data for better decision making and creation of new business avenues.

Trade Connect supports a full suite of trade and supply chain finance products such as Open Account, Letter of Credit, Invoice Financing, Bills Collection, PO Financing and Bank Guarantees.

Banks, buyers and sellers will be able to maintain a direct relationship on the Finacle Trade Connect powered network and connect with each other on digital channels.

Further, the pilot network will allow for instant transfer of messages and documents between the parties involved in a completely secure manner reducing lifecycle turnaround time.

Banks will be secure from technology evolution risks as the Finacle Trade Connect is agnostic to underlying blockchain infrastructure such as Hyper ledger, Corda, Ethereum and Bitcoin.

Sanat Rao, Chief Business Officer, Infosys Finacle, said, “Blockchain technology offers unprecedented opportunities to transform banking, with advantages increasing exponentially with increased collaboration. We have pioneered multiple solutions to help our clients take advantage of this emerging technology to realize real business benefits. We are excited to collaborate with HNB in this promising journey and look forward to more partners joining the network.”

Alenka Grealish, Senior Analyst, Celent, said, “Critical to blockchain’s achieving economic viability is scalability. The addition of a new client using Finacle Trade Connect is a promising sign. Early this year, Celent recognized the India Trade Connect, a blockchain-based domestic trade finance platform powered by Finacle Trade Connect, with the 2018 Model Bank award. The India Trade Connect consortium recognized that they needed a strong tech partner to provide the ecosystem infrastructure.”