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Singaporean banks and ocean carriers have partnered to launch a real-time verification system for bills of lading (BLs), the latest move in the city-state\u2019s bid to use technology to fight trade finance fraud.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The launch of the tool was announced today by the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) and SGTraDex, a platform for transferring trade data securely that went live in 2022.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It forms part of the Trade Finance Registry, an ABS-owned banking utility in operation since June 2023 that enables lenders to check whether a borrower has attempted to obtain finance more than once for a single trade transaction.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In addition to duplicate financing checks, lenders can now submit data from trade documents to the registry, which will then match that data with information from shipping companies to verify whether a BL is legitimate.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cCurrently, this is a manual process that involves banks calling or sending emails to conduct such verifications,\u201d the ABS and SGTraDex joint announcement says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ABS director Ong-Ang Ai Boon says the partnership will \u201chelp to mitigate trade finance fraud, improve efficiency, build trust and enhance connectivity in global trade\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The use of forged or recycled BLs has been uncovered in several high-profile fraud scandals, including the 2020 collapse of Singapore commodity trader Hin Leong, which left banks facing losses of up to US$3.5bn.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In some cases, banks discovered they had financed transactions where no actual shipment of goods had taken place.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n To verify whether BLs are legitimate, SGTraDex uses APIs to connect the Trade Finance Registry with information from ocean carrier data aggregators.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Singapore-based Portcast, which provides a supply chain visibility platform, has joined the initiative as a data aggregator, while Ocean Network Express is the first carrier to participate in the project.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n SGTraDex says it plans to add other aggregators and carriers as partners, and ABS says around 70% of banks participating in the Trade Finance Registry plan to use the BL verification tool.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBy leveraging real-time data connectivity, we\u2019re building a future where trade transactions are faster, more transparent and highly reliable for all stakeholders,\u201d says Portcast chief executive Nidhi Gupta.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis collaboration lays the groundwork for a truly secure and connected trade ecosystem.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Tan Chin Hwee, chairman of SGTraDex, says the tool should also support further digitalisation of trade finance, driving greater efficiency across the industry.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Singaporean banks and ocean carriers have partnered to launch a real-time verification system for bills of lading (BLs), the latest move in the city-state\u2019s bid to use technology to fight trade finance fraud.\u00a0 The launch of the tool was announced today by the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) and SGTraDex, a platform for transferring 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