One of the world's leading trade finance providers says it is responding to customers' needs by offering importers the ability to manage their open account cross-border settlement activity on the same online platform as their letter of credit (L/C) and documentary collection activity.

Wachovia Bank's International Division says the service is available on its Internet-based tool for all import-related trade payment activity, CyberImport.

New services

Wachovia's latest enhancement of its trade finance provision is one in a string of new services offered to clients by the bank and according to manager of trade product management and development, John McFadden, "this open account release is our most significant enhancement to date."

"When we launched our proprietary web-based trade processing platform in 2001, we said we would regularly add differentiating functionality," he says.

Customer demand

Managing director of Wachovia's global trade services group, Michael Schmittlein, explains what the banks' research suggests importers and exporters want from today's trade finance provider.

"Our clients have indicated that they are looking for a single integrated application that would facilitate the settlement of all their cross border payables activity - no matter the sales method. Our CyberImport product now offers this functionality while leveraging our global image based trade processing platform and our expertise in trade payables processing/outsourcing," he says.

Outsourced L/C processing

Wachovia says its web-based trade services are now designed to enable importers and exporters to easily and securely initiate, manage and monitor trade transactions, including L/C processing, bankers' acceptances, global payments, cash management and foreign exchange.

Wachovia claims to be the largest processor of outsourced L/Cs in the world and has been a third party provider of back office trade processing services for more than a decade. It believes the market for trade outsourcing services will double over the next three years (DC World News, 19 July 2004).

This article represents the views of the author and not necessarily those of the ICC or any of the other partners in DC-PRO.