The agreement, which took place in February 2024 and featured Somerset-based construction material supplier Paull's Matting purchasing matting from an Indian coir exporter with its headquarters in Kerala, India, comes soon after Lloyds Bank became the first UK bank to join the WaveBL platform.

The Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) issued the Bill of Lading for the transaction as an eBL through WaveBL, and it was forwarded to Lloyds Bank, serving Paull's, via the Exporter's bank, Federal Bank. Together, Federal Bank and Lloyds Bank are investigating ways to digitize further client transactions.

The transaction completion time, cost, and risk of important papers being misplaced were all decreased by using the eBL. Additionally, it relieved all parties of the administrative burden associated with preparing, managing, and sending printed documentation. This transaction was finished in less than 24 hours, and no physical documentation had to change hands, unlike a prior exchange between Paull's and the exporter that took 15 days and required six courier deliveries between India and the UK.

In addition to the eBL, Paull's Matting issued a digital Promissory Note (dPN) on Enigio's trace:original blockchain system via Lloyds Bank.Paull's was able to electronically accept its payment obligation thanks to technology, which eliminated the need for it to draft and send a physical promissory note to Lloyds Bank. This made it possible for Lloyds Bank to release the eBL to Paull's more quickly.

In international trade, bills of lading are an essential document. They serve as a "receipt" for the products being sent and are provided by a carrier when a seller ships goods to a final consumer. The Bill of Lading is released to the buyer so they can claim the product upon arrival when payment for the goods is obtained, or an arrangement to pay at a later time, is made.

Because the original bills or notes must be "possessed" and possession of a bill or note may need to be proven at any stage of the transaction, it has historically been challenging to scale the use of eBLs and dPNs. Merely 2-3% of Bills of Lading are thought to be digital, and even fewer dPNs.

Clients of Lloyds Bank can safely and easily move fully digital eBLs based on blockchain between organizations on the WaveBL network, which has 136 members worldwide, including four of the top ten container shipping companies. This helps validate original versions of the document.

Lloyds Bank also performed the first transaction in the UK with a digital "promissory note" in August 2022 and became the first bank worldwide to trade under the UK's Electronic Trade Documents Act (ETDA) in September 2023, all thanks to Enigio's trace:original solution.

"This is a great example of digital trade in action," stated Lloyds Bank's head of trade and working capital products, Rogier van Lammeren.

The eBL and dPN have eliminated the requirement for any actual paper to be exchanged. As a result, the transaction has gone more quickly, reducing the risk, expense, and administrative burden for the participating firms while also assisting in shortening the working capital cycles of the parties. We're excited to assist more businesses in realizing the substantial advantages that digital trade presents.

"These digital trade solutions have already brought major benefits to our business," stated Douglas Paull, Director of Paull's Matting.

In addition to making the transaction go more quickly, it allowed us to concentrate more on the day-to-day management of our business, which is very important to us as a family-run enterprise that conducts business with foreign partners on a regular basis. We appreciate the help from the Lloyds Bank team during this process and hope to use these digital solutions in the future.

"The WaveBL platform boasts a proven track record in managing electronic trade documents, with over 500,000 electronic Bills of Lading issued via our platform since its inception," said Ofer Ein Bar, VP of Financial Institutions at WaveBL. Our trade digitalization strategy is extended when we present to banks using eBLs and other electronic trade papers. We're honored to work with Federal Bank and Lloyds to lead this initiative together.

 

"We are extremely delighted to announce that Federal Bank is the first Indian bank to partner with Lloyds Bank and Wave BL and have successfully completed the cross-border digital collection transaction," stated Mrs. L V Rathna Mala, SVP and Zonal Business Head, Federal Bank, India. Digital transactions speed up turnaround times and increase operational efficiency by doing away with manual paperwork and streamlining procedures. In addition to having a positive environmental impact, there are significant time and resource savings for the Bank and its clients.