Supply Chain Finance / Trade Finance / Trade Services

See below for a list of independently written IBS Journal news and feature articles and IBS Intelligence Research vendor profiles, case studies and market analysis related to Supply Chain Finance, Trade Finance and Trade Services in order of publication date.

You may also be interested in our Treasury & Capital Markets Systems Market Report >>

A significant, and historical, facet of banking is the financing of international trade, which is variously known as ‘trade finance’ or ‘trade services’, albeit with the latter often being used as a broader term encapsulating supply chain finance as a whole. The activity has its roots in early traders substituting the creditworthiness of banks, in place of themselves individually, to exchange trade documents for payment. For example, a buyer in one country would contact his bank to underwrite the financing of an import. The buyer’s bank would issue a ‘letter of credit’ referencing the seller’s bank and the conditions for payment. When those documented conditions had occurred (e.g. bill of lading issued when the export was free on board a ship, etc.) then the buyer’s bank would credit the seller’s bank using a correspondent banking arrangement.

The market for automated systems that process the trade finance transactions is served by specialised systems from vendors that concentrate on this market segment, of which there are around half a dozen international vendors. Generalist core banking systems vendors often have trade finance functionality within their broad core systems offerings.

Some large international banks offer specialist ‘white-labelled’ or outsourced trade finance operations that can help other banks offer specialised services without incurring the significant overhead of providing in-house expertise and services.

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Article: Who's Bought What? – May 2013

07 May 2013

A round-up of recent orders in the financial technology sector worldwide. New deals for BML Istisharat, Intrasoft International, Fundtech and Vsoft Corporation.

Article: Wahda Bank live with iMAL core system

29 April 2013

Libya-based Wahda Bank has launched its Islamic banking services range on Path Solutions' iMAL core system. More business in the country is to follow, says the vendor, as domestic banks are mandated to go fully Shari'ah-compliant by 2015. 

Article: New core banking system deal for BML Istisharat

17 April 2013

UAE-based Investbank, a long-standing user of Oracle FSS's Flexcube core platform, is expanding to Lebanon. For this greenfield operation, the bank has opted for the ICBS core offering from local vendor BML Istisharat.

Article: Case study: ABN Amro – Starting over

04 April 2013

When ABN Amro set about rebuilding its presence around the globe in trade finance, it opted for separate solutions for front and back office and was happy to work with small companies. How have things worked out?

Article: Backchat – March 2013

06 March 2013

The latest gossip from around the industry.

Article: Islamic Banking Focus: Case study – United Arab Bank

03 December 2012

United Arab Bank has implemented Misys' Equation core banking system to broaden its business, including opening an Islamic window. While hardly the newest system on the market, this IBM iSeries-based workhorse has a long track-record of serving...

Article: New Misys: new organisation, standard and client stance

14 November 2012

Bret Bolin, CEO of Misys, updates IBS on the progress of the merger of Turaz and Misys and the creation of the world's largest treasury and capital markets (TCM) and banking software vendor.

Article: Surecomp develops new supply chain finance system

12 November 2012

SCF-PRO is a new supply chain finance system from Surecomp, set for launch early next year. Key modules include inventory and distributor financing, reverse factoring and APF. The Bank Payment Obligation (BPO) functionality, however, is still under...

Article: Other system replacement plans

06 November 2012

This section provides the results (summary tables) to the other systems respondents have (from the list below), any plans to change and what is behind those decisions:Financial Accounting - Retail Payments - Retail Lending - Retail...

Article: IBS Interview: Kah Chye Tan, Barclays

01 November 2012

Kah Chye Tan is heading Barclays' efforts in trade finance, centred on internal IT investment and external involvement with industry initiatives. He also chairs the ICC Banking Commission. IBS caught up with him to talk about the challenges and...

Article: Swift BPO case study: Paperless world – myth or reality?

01 October 2012

Swift has been working for some time to create a new payment instrument that promises to finally drive out much of the paper and inefficiencies around trade. With ratification by the ICC on the way, can the Bank Payment Obligation (BPO) live up to...

Article: Banco Internacional in Ecuador live with Alltra trade finance system

09 July 2012

Banco Internacional in Ecuador is live with the back office component of Surecomp's Java-based trade finance system, Alltra. The front-end module, Allnett, is to follow shortly. 

Article: Who's Bought What? – July / August 2012

04 July 2012

A round-up of recent orders in the financial technology sector worldwide. Temenos, Misys, Polaris and Sword Apak are among the vendors gaining new deals. National Bank of Egypt, Standard Bank, BTG Pactual and others acquire new software.

Article: Bank of Beirut opts for Bankfusion from Misys

19 June 2012

Lebanon-based Bank of Beirut is modernising its technology at home and globally with Misys' Bankfusion Universal Banking, Trade Innovation, and Misys Sophis' Value and Risque solutions.

Article: Vendor view: SAB & Clear2Pay – French connection

28 May 2012

SAB is one of the three major French core banking suppliers that operate in North Africa. Its chairman, Olivier Peccoux, tells IBS about the experience. Also in this article we ask how much headway can a French vendor make in North Africa? IBS...

Article: Backchat – May 2012

02 May 2012

The latest gossip from around the industry.

Article: Free Webinar: How To Improve Negotiation and Contracting Techniques with Technology Vendors

23 April 2012

Our free webinar How To Improve Negotiation & Contracting Techniques with Technology Vendors took place on Wed 25th April 2012 (a recording of the webinar is available to view on our

Article: Case study: British Arab Commercial Bank – Some like it hot

04 April 2012

For British Arab Commercial Bank, dealing with the politically sensitive is its stock in trade. Technology plays a major part of its day-to-day activity.  

Article: Eurofinance 2011: Think about the future

28 October 2011

Eurofinance's 20th anniversary international cash and treasury management event did not want to dwell on the past but instead looked forward to what might be. Technology will be at the forefront of the treasury role. Probably.

Article: Who's Bought What? – October 2011

05 October 2011

A round-up of recent orders in the financial technology sector worldwide. Temenos, MIT, Logica and others have gained new deals. HDFC Bank, Bank Papua and Natixis are among the financial institutions that have acquired new software.

Article: Country Focus: Canada – Retail therapy

22 September 2011

With over 400 financial institutions, the Canadian retail financial services industry is a worthwhile market for software suppliers. Which international vendors have managed to make inroads and what is their success rate?

Article: MB Financial Bank moves into trade finance with Surecomp's Alltra and Allnett

20 September 2011

Chicago-based MB Financial Bank is extending its operations into trade finance. To do so, it has taken Surecomp's Alltra back office system and Allnett front-end. It is the first broad trade taker for the J2EE-based Alltra in North America.

Article: Swift and ICC to go public on BPO plans

13 September 2011

Swift and the ICC Banking Commission will officially announce their joint plans for the Bank Payment Obligation (BPO) instrument at Sibos. Vendor, bank and corporate partners are revealed.

Article: MIT signs Natixis for commodity trade finance offering Trac

12 September 2011

Natixis is the second taker of Trac after Banque Cantonale de Genève. It will implement the system in France and Asia, and then in the US.   

Article: Temenos and Sofgen sign BNA New York for core conversion

09 September 2011

US-based subsidiary of Argentina's largest bank, Banco de la Nación Argentina (BNA), has embarked on a core system conversion project. Temenos' T24 US Model Bank and Sofgen's REG-Reporter will support four sites of BNA New York.

Article: Who's Bought What? – September 2011

08 September 2011

A round-up of recent orders in the financial technology sector worldwide. Surecomp, Polaris, Fiserv, ICS and others have gained new deals. Unicredit, SocGen, Scotiabank and Ficombank are among the financial institutions that have acquired new...

Article: Bank of Montreal to bring M&I Bank and third party bank onto trade platform

19 August 2011

Bank of Montreal is bringing the acquired M&I Bank onto its trade services platform, plus a third outsource client. Meanwhile, it has a first client that wants support for the Bolero trade utility, and is keeping a watching brief on Swift's TSU.

Article: Scotiabank upgrades to Trade360 trade finance platform from CGI

12 August 2011

After an evaluation lasting more than two years, Scotiabank has started to move to the hosted Trade360 platform of CGI for its global trade finance operations.

Article: Unicredit signs global deal with Surecomp for Imex trade finance platform

14 July 2011

Unicredit will roll out Surecomp's Imex back-office trade finance system across multiple locations, starting with Italy and Germany. The vendor beat China Systems and Misys to this deal.

Article: Who's Bought What? – July / August 2011

06 July 2011

A round-up of recent orders in the financial technology sector worldwide. Polaris, 3i Infotech, Callataÿ & Wouters, Capital Banking Solutions, TCS and others have gained new deals. Housing Bank for Trade Finance, Reserve Bank of India, Unicredit ...

Article: SCB in Thailand picks new trade finance solution from Surecomp

14 June 2011

Siam Commercial Bank, Thailand's oldest domestic bank, has selected Surecomp to replace its existing trade finance system.

Article: Who's Bought What? – May 2011

04 May 2011

A round-up of recent orders in the financial technology sector worldwide. Sungard, Misys, Tieto and others have announced new deals. Bank of Ireland, Bank of China, FirstMerit Bank and Qatar Exchange are among the financial institutions that have...

Article: Maldives Islamic Bank live with iMAL core system

28 April 2011

A start-up Islamic bank in the Maldives has launched with the iMAL core offering from Path Solutions. The bank is Path's first in the country.

Article: Bancoldex live with T24 core banking system for trade finance

15 April 2011

Temenos' T24 solution has passed a milestone with a first go-live in Colombia. This is for trade finance functionality at Bancoldex. Bancoldex is the first taker of T24 in the country.

Article: FirstMerit Bank selects Misys offerings for trade finance and foreign exchange

05 April 2011

FirstMerit Bank has taken a combination of OpicsPlus and Trade Innovation, Misys' solutions for treasury and trade finance. It will use Misys' portal for the front-end.

Article: First bank live with MIT's Trac trade finance system

04 April 2011

BCGE is the first bank to have gone live with the Trade Risk Active Control (Trac) system from a local vendor, MIT.

Article: Who's Bought What? – April 2011

04 April 2011

A round-up of recent orders in the financial technology sector worldwide. Fundtech, S1, Surecomp, Twofour and others have announced new deals. HSBC, Banco de Chile, Russian Commercial Bank, Ecobank and Saudi Hollandi Bank are among the financial...

Article: Overview: Tales of the unexpected

28 March 2011

After the excitement and growth of 2008, banking systems sales in the established financial centres of the Middle East seemingly floated into the doldrums in 2009. Did 2010 deliver much needed motive power to the industry?

Article: Surecomp's Allnett trade finance front-end live at Banco Internacional Guatemala

23 March 2011

Banco Internacional Guatemala has gone live with Surecomp's front-end trade finance product, Allnett. Banco Internacional in Ecuador is currently implementing Surecomp's solutions, and Banco de Chile has just signed with the vendor.

Article: Who's Bought What? – February 2011

02 February 2011

A round-up of recent orders in the financial technology sector worldwide. Oracle FSS, Surecomp, Vermeg, ERI and others have announced new deals. Cal Israel, DBS Bank, SocGen Corporate and Investment Bank, CIMB Group and Indian Bank are among the ...

Article: DBS revamps e-banking services for corporates; brings transaction banking to the fore

21 December 2010

Singapore-based DBS Bank, the largest bank in South East Asia, is building a next-generation electronic banking platform for corporate customers, focusing on 'anytime, anywhere' access and broadening its cash management and trade finance product...

Article: Misys progresses with portal and payments software offerings

21 December 2010

Misys extends its portal offering to the treasury and capital markets (TCM) business, including Summit, Opics and LoanIQ; adds Personal Finance Portal (retail e-banking) to Bankfusion Universal Banking and Equation; goes live with the first...

Article: Surecomp signs Mexico's Banco Monex for Alltra trade finance system

13 December 2010

Mexico-based Banco Monex has signed for Surecomp's Java-based back office system for trade finance, Alltra. Alltra will support the bank's letters of credit (LCs) business. The project will be completed in six months.

Article: Société Générale rolls out new trade finance system, Alltra, from Surecomp

09 December 2010

Société Générale's corporate and investment banking unit, CIB, is gradually replacing its current Windows-based IBSnet trade finance system with Java-based Alltra from Surecomp. The solution is being rolled out worldwide, as part of the bank's 'Am...

Article: TCS adds factoring module to Bancs core system; promotes new multi-channel offering

12 November 2010

The next annual release of the TCS Bancs core banking system will have a full factoring module. Two pilot projects are now under way. In the front-end space, TCS is taking on the likes of S1 with its new multi-channel offering.

Article: Pinnacle partners with Eastnets for SaaS-based core system

08 November 2010

Pinnacle Solutions has opted to use Eastnets' Swift service bureau to underpin the vendor's Synergy banking and trade services system, which stems from the development done for Commerzbank.

Article: ABN Amro takes CBA and Surecomp systems to underpin re-entry onto the international trade finance market

29 October 2010

ABN Amro is to roll out the IBAS system from Norway-based CBA for trade finance around the globe, starting with Singapore and Hong Kong. Rival supplier, Surecomp, will provide the front-end for this with its Allnett system.

Article: CSI posts progress with Banktrade and Clienttrade trade finance solutions

27 October 2010

US-based trade finance software vendor, Complex Systems Inc (CSI), is about to go live with the front-end of its flagship offering, Clienttrade, at BBVA's Latin American hub. Meanwhile, Portugal-based Caixa Geral de Depositos (CGD) is deploying...

Article: ABN Amro starts multi-country roll-out of Surecomp's Allnett trade finance front-end

21 October 2010

Surecomp has sold a licence for its Allnett front-end trade finance solution to ABN Amro. The deal, which was signed in early October, will see the Netherlands-based bank roll out Allnett for its domestic market first and then for its entities...

Article: National Bank of Abu Dhabi selects Credoc trade finance system

30 September 2010

The system will be used by its international branches in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman and the UK.