Infosys Finacle, part of EdgeVerve Systems, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Infosys announced that it has been inducted into International Financial Services Centres Authority’s (IFSCA) Regulatory Sandbox framework to pilot its blockchain-based trade finance solution. The authorization was issued in the presence of the Honorable Prime Minister of India, Shri. Narendra Modi to Mr. Sajit Vijayakumar, Chief Operating Officer, Infosys Finacle, at an event organized by the IFSCA, at the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City).
In the first phase, six leading banks – Federal Bank, HDFC Bank, HSBC, ICICI Bank, RBL Bank and State Bank of India– are collaborating with Infosys Finacle in the regulatory sandbox. This collaboration will lead to comprehensive testing of the blockchain-based Buyers Credit solution, for short-term credit in foreign currency for import payments and trade finance transactions. This will serve as a precursor to the solution being available as a SaaS-based offering for all banks servicing clients from GIFT City.
In its endeavor to support a world-class fintech hub at GIFT City, IFSCA had launched I-Sprint’21, a global FinTech Hackathon, as part of InFinity Forum 2021. After multiple rounds of assessment, the Finacle Trade Connect, a blockchain-based solution was selected for the ‘Buyers Credit Optimization’ category and consequently, granted direct entry into the IFSCA’s Regulatory Sandbox.
Finacle Trade Connect helps banks, corporates, and various trade partners, such as shipping companies, insurers, and customs agencies, connect directly on a unified distributed network enabling inter-organization automation of trade finance processes. Apart from Buyer’s Credit, the solution offers capabilities across Letter of Credit, Open Account for Trade, Bill Collection, Bill Exchange, C2C Transactions for Trade, B2C Transactions for Trade, PO Financing, Invoice Financing, Bank Guarantee, and Factoring.
Starting with Buyers’ Credit, the Finacle Trade Connect solution will remove friction from the trade finance value chain by connecting various commercial banks, their international banking units at GIFT city, and their business clients on a unified distributed platform. The new platform will speed-up transaction times from weeks to hours and drive significant cost savings. It will also enable trade expansion to drive economic growth. The solution will also enable marketplace capability where customers can request the participating banks’ international banking units at GIFT city to provide competitive quotes to unlock the best offers.
Varun Bakshi, Head-Product, Transaction Banking, RBL Bank, said, “RBL Bank is delighted to collaborate with Infosys Finacle to introduce Blockchain Technology for Buyers Credit. This enhanced offering will enable us to launch a highly efficient transaction delivery platform as well as offer an effective mitigant against potential risks. We look forward to the current sandbox framework being expanded further by bringing more ecosystem participants on the platform thus benefitting all stakeholders.”
Sajit Vijayakumar, Chief Operating Officer, Infosys Finacle, said, “Trade is a vital engine for economic and social progress. Yet, trade finance has a huge unmet demand globally. Solving this problem can help unlock significant opportunities for businesses and banks. But the trade finance ecosystem is complex. Multiple entities and paper-heavy processes create high turnaround times and significant costs. At Infosys Finacle, we are very pleased to collaborate with leading banks and the IFSCA to help reimagine trade finance processes. The Finacle Trade Connect solution will help banks digitize and automate the currently cumbersome trade processes, to unlock significant value for the businesses and banking community.”
