KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 12): CIMB Bank Bhd teamed up with Mastercard today to launch the Cross-Border Commodities Financial Services Platform at the Shanghai Free Trade Zone (SFTZ) to facilitate Malaysian traders using the trade zone.
Describing the platform as a revolutionary payments eco-system, CIMB said it is a significant step towards building an integrated, fully digital platform for all trade and services in the SFTZ.
“Malaysian traders will benefit from a seamless transactional flow with SFTZ, in the form of greater efficiency, cost-effectiveness, transparency and control to enhance cash flow management,” CIMB’s senior managing director for global wholesale banking, Thomas Tan, said in a statement.
Some of the key benefits of the platform, said CIMB, include greater transparency and accountability to the trade process. It provides authorities and stakeholders with deep and detailed visibility of the full trade cycle, including the payment of duties and subsequent transactions.
Other than that, the platform is designed to bring about significant savings in terms of time and cost to all parties involved in the eco-system. In contrast with the existing system, the new platform will enable an efficient and convenient trading environment for all parties.
CIMB said the platform will also bring about deeper connectivity and a higher security for the various parties and stakeholders in the SFTZ, which will enhance collaboration and coordination within the trade zone, connecting banks, regulatory bodies, bonded warehouses, merchants and businesses through one platform
“The platform will also serve as a means to authenticate the credibility of merchants and traders, opening up opportunities for more banks around the world to be a part of SFTZ’s trade financing and encouraging an increased volume of cross-border transactions,” said CIMB.