BBVA has announced it has created a supply chain finance solution that it says is designed to compete and lead the business in Latin America, the US, and Europe. The tool allows for the centralised management of payments, optimising corporate clients’ working capital while helping to improve the financial health of their suppliers. The bank says the digital experience provides simple and intuitive navigation.

According to data from PwC’s 2019-2020 report on working capital, it is estimated that liquidity trapped in companies balance sheets totals €1.2bn, with the harm this does to both the supplier and their business as part of the company’s daily cash management.

BBVA says its solution will allow corporates to respond to the challenges they face in financing their supply chains: complete financial coverage in the different countries and currencies in which the client operates; operational and contractual simplicity; and easy and effective onboarding of all suppliers.

The platform, BBVA Global Supply Chain Finance, has a single access point, which allows for a centralised view of all of the companies’ programmes and suppliers in all locations and currencies at the same time. The secure connection is integrated with the client’s ERP and adapts to their business processes, and provides internal control through the total tracking of invoices and payments. This solution is now available for BBVA clients in Europe, the US, Mexico and Peru. It will also be available in Colombia in 2021.

With the BBVA offering, the buyer controls all of their programmes in different countries and currencies from a single access point. Meanwhile, the supplier has access to a range of tools that allow them to receive advance payment of their invoices, simulate their future payment flows, plan their cash flow and have real-time management control.

The bank says that one of the biggest competitive advantages of offering centralised supply chain finance is that it allows it to reach the entire base of suppliers with no limits on the number or amount of invoices - from the most strategic to those with smaller purchase volumes. In addition, BBVA says the platform has a straight forward onboarding process, with specific support teams that allow providers to join the programmes online, encouraging their participation.

Another eBL option added to Contour

Elsewhere this week, Singapore-based global trade finance network Contour has announced its partnership with CargoX, a blockchain platform for transferring documents and data including a certified electronic bill of lading (eBL) solution. The news follows Contour’s transition to full production, with the network supporting electronic bills of lading as part of digital transformation of trade. 

The partnership provides Contour customers another option for eBLs to be used in synchronisation with their Contour trade finance transaction. This is designed to not only reduce the over reliance on paper documents that is common in the industry but also streamline trade processes, reducing time and improving communication. 

Contour’s non-partisan network, powered by R3’s Corda blockchain technology, allows all banks, financial institutions, and corporates to improve access, communication, and transparency when conducting trade finance agreements. 

CargoX’s blockchain-powered document transfer platform allows users to manage digital original documents, such as eBLs, and provides the tools for secure and instant transfers of those documents. The platform also provides transparency by including auditable histories of document ownership and changes.