Last week saw the first live international trade using the TradeTrust Framework, a blockchain paperless trade initiative spearheaded by Enterprise Singapore and Singapore’s tech authority IMDA. Maersk used the platform to issue an electronic bill of lading (eBL) on a public blockchain for a shipment of scrap metal. Singapore’s DBS Bank and India’s ICICI Bank relied on the eBL for trade finance.
IMDA claims that “this is the first shipment to undergo a fully paperless transaction process involving traders, shippers, and banks.”
eBLs are critical documents in trade finance because the organization that has the bill of lading effectively owns the cargo. Making bills of lading electronic prevents fraud when sending a paper based version via courier. And because it can be transmitted electronically, it’s much faster and cheaper.
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