The S-Servicepartner, Sparkasse Bielefeld and Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI), together with the Dr. Wolff Group and its business partner, the pharmaceutical company Pharma Handel, have successfully completed a digital trade transaction with a receivables-based financing component on the Marco Polo platform. 

The S-Servicepartner, currently the only back-office service provider worldwide within the Marco Polo consortium, was able to process a blockchain-based trade transaction for the first time together with a savings bank and its customer. The transaction also saw RBI become the first Austrian bank to carry out a pilot transaction on the Marco Polo platform.

The Marco Polo network connects banks, corporates and technology partners to streamline their working capital and trade finance activities through direct data exchange. It provides digital solutions for international trade and supply chain as well as receivables-based financing using R3 Corda blockchain technology. Companies will be able to access the platform’s offerings via web portals, local and cloud-based platforms, and ERP-integrated applications.

The S-Servicepartner participates in the development of the Marco Polo platform, representing all savings banks in Germany, and pursues the goal of providing them with access to the Marco Polo product offering. The service provider is therefore testing the functionality and experience of the products on the Marco Polo platform together with selected savings banks and their medium-sized corporate customers. 

“This is the first transaction in a pilot series with savings banks with which we want to make an important contribution towards production maturity,” said Jürgen Nagel, a member of the Management Board of S-Servicepartner Berlin. “The insights gained by all participants will be directly incorporated into the further development of the modules”.

"We are very happy and satisfied to be able to contribute the view of a savings bank at such an early stage in the development of this platform," said Ralf Hüpel, head of International Business at Sparkasse Bielefeld. "As the first savings bank in Germany, we were able, together with our customer, to give important impulses for the further development of this international project”.

“The Wolff Group, which is always interested in cutting edge innovations, sees an opportunity for the future to raise considerable efficiency potentials and significantly improve transparency in the entire process, from ordering to payment,” commented Tanja Niedenführ, head of Finance and Accounting Department at the pharmaceutical manufacturer.