Akbank becomes the first Turkish bank to join the we.trade network, a blockchain-based trade finance platform that provides exporters with receivables guarantee and financing, whilst securing payment guarantees for importers, in a safe and reliable digital environment through digital smart contracts.
Accelerating its trade finance expertise, vision, and focus on innovation and investments in digitalisation, Akbank has joined the we.trade consortium of European banks. With this platform, Akbank will enable exporters and importers to create smart contracts in a secure and reliable environment, whilst facilitating additional working capital and financing solutions to help grow their business.
In his statement, Mehmet Tugal, Executive Vice President of Akbank Commercial Banking said, “Both in the world and Turkey, most of the trade volume is based on open account terms. Therefore, it is very important to bring innovative digital banking solutions, that provide security and speed in international trade, to our customers. Apart from the traditional trade finance methods, we are aiming to provide our customers with financing products, supported by blockchain technology, that will increase their competitiveness in international markets via the we.trade platform. We are proud of offering new products that can bring new experiences to our customers, enabling end-to-end monitoring of transactions initiated on the platform. We also believe that with the we.trade platform, which includes the leading banks of Europe, we will support the growth of exports by paving the way for exporters who have risk concerns about collections”
Pointing out that they are continuing to provide innovative digital services to both individual and corporate customers, Burcu Civelek Yüce, Executive Vice President of Akbank Strategy, Digital Banking and Payment Systems said, “As the first Turkish bank to be included on the we.trade platform we have now launched an innovative service for our trade finance customers. In our trade finance processes, which include multiple parties and blockchain applications, we offer fast and reliable digital financing options, which reduces risk without incurring high costs. Through smart digital contracts that constitute the backbone of blockchain technology, we will allow customers to execute their trade finance transactions more safely and with less operational workload. We are very excited that this experience will add more value to the commercial activities of our trade finance customers.”
In her statement, Agnes Joly, Chairperson at we.trade Innovation DAC said, “We are happy to welcome Akbank among the user banks of we.trade. We are convinced that we.trade, the user banks, and their corporate customers will benefit from Akbank’s arrival while extending the reach of the we.trade network. Akbank is an important leading bank in Turkey and trade partner, with international exposure, involvement in trade finance and an appetite for innovation that propelled Akbank's decision to join we.trade. Akbank’s move is further validation of we.trade’s value proposition and business model and the relevance of its offering to trade partners.”
Sharing his excitement over Akbank’s participation, Mark Cudden, CTO at we.trade Innovation DAC told, “Akbank’s participation re-enforces our strategy of expanding our network’s global reach. We are delighted that Akbank has selected we.trade as an enabler and accelerator in their trade & trade finance digitalisation transformation.”