Citi India says it has completed the first domestic end-to-end blockchain enabled letter of credit (L/C) Transaction on Contour, the blockchain-based trade platform focused on digitising L/C processing,

The transaction was also a first for the client, diversified industrials manufacturing company Cummins India.

Advising and issuing bank

Citi, through its treasury and trade solutions (TTS) business in India, served as both L/C advising and issuing bank.

By processing the transaction through its TTS business, Citi says it was able to offer a safer, faster, and paperless solution for the L/C transaction between Cummins and its customer, which are corporate and commercial banking clients of Citi, respectively.

Processed in three hours

Contour claims its decentralised global trade finance network indicates that L/C processing time can fall by as much as 90 per cent.

In conventional L/C transactions, document presentation usually takes 5-10 days, while in this transaction for Cummins it was completed in three hours according to Citi, which is a founding member of Contour.

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