DBS Bank clinches HKB Technology Excellence Awards for digital trade finance solution

It has partnered with GS1 Hong Kong to create a solution that will allow financing capabilities through alternative data.

Multinational banking and financial service corporation DBS Bank took home the win in the Fintech - Banking category at the HKB Technology Excellence Awards for its innovative digital post-shipment trade financing solution made in partnership with GS1 Hong Kong.

The digital trade financing platform enables SMEs to leverage their alternative data for financing. With this first-in-market offering, SMEs on GS1 Hong Kong's ezTRADE platform can utilise their trade data to access financing in a digital and straight-through manner.

This innovation makes it easy for SMEs to access working capital with just one click via the bank’s corporate banking platform DBS IDEAL. SMEs can also enjoy faster access to funding with minimal hassle and drive their business growth.

This solution redefines the trade financing journey for SMEs with DBS availing financing through a streamlined credit assessment process. Through the bank’s predictive analytics capabilities, invoice data is used to assess the financial health of SMEs. The amount of financing SMEs can enjoy is also updated on a dynamic and recurring basis.

Moreover, SMEs no longer need to submit hundreds of invoices manually to the bank. Such a paperless approach to trade financing not only frees SMEs from repetitive document submission, but also paves the way for more digital and sustainable business practices.

DBS Bank said that the digital solution was borne out of its ongoing commitment to meeting its SME customers’ needs in new and innovative ways. 

“By leveraging digital ecosystems, we are pleased to be able to enhance the SME customer journey further by providing trade financing via a digital ‘one click’ transaction experience. SME suppliers receive hundreds of invoices per month and may have limited resources to submit documentation to the bank for trade financing purposes,” the company said.

In October 2022, DBS and GS1 Hong Kong further enhanced its offering with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's (HKMA) Commercial Data Interchange (CDI) platform. The move is part of DBS Bank’s commitment to provide enterprises with tailored, efficient financing services whilst also supporting the fintech ecosystem development led by HKMA in Hong Kong.

CDI’s next-generation financial data infrastructure offers secure, efficient, and scalable data sharing between banks and data providers – simplifying the connectivity between participating parties whilst providing a flexible platform design for innovative applications.

The HKB Technology Excellence Awards aims to honour outstanding companies that made exceptional contributions in pursuit of technological innovation.

The Hong Kong Business Technology Excellence Awards is presented by Hong Kong Business Magazine. To view the full list of winners, click here. If you want to join the 2024 awards programme and be acclaimed for your company's outstanding contributions in pursuit of technological innovation, please contact Julie Anne Nuñez at [email protected].