The Singapore office of Japan's largest bank, MUFG, has joined the Contour trade finance network that uses blockchain to digitise letters of credit (L/Cs).

The bank says its Singapore office is accelerating its progress to go paperless and the move is part of its digital transformation efforts and climate change-related initiatives.

Digital benefits

By joining Contour's network, MUFG customers will be able to adopt a fully digital end-to-end L/C settlement process.

Contour reckons that by using a digital L/C, the process of presenting documents is reduced to under 24 hours.

Global presence

MUFG has a global presence spanning around 50 markets, while its parent Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group is one of the world's leading financial groups.

It sees Contour as a market-leading trade ecosystem according to managing director and head of transaction banking for Asia Pacific, Belinda Han.

She sees partnering with Contour as "consistent with MUFG's ongoing commitment towards integrating digitalisation into driving strategic growth and enhancing the client experience."

This article represents the views of the author and not necessarily those of the ICC or Coastline Solutions.