Leading Portuguese bank, Caixa Geral de Depósitos, and importer Mibepa accelerate major plastics shipment from India using trade digitisation functionality of Bolero’s ePresentation platform to overcome coronavirus-related barriers
London, 28th May, 2020 – Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD), Portugal’s leading bank, and Mibepa, an expanding Portuguese importer of raw materials for the plastics industry, have used Bolero’s trade digitisation platform to accelerate a major shipment of polythene from India.
Bolero’s end-to-end digital presentation enabled the parties to achieve faster completion of the transaction by accelerating document flows despite all difficulties caused by the current coronavirus pandemic, including restrictions on movement of paper trade documents.
The transaction is a double-first for Bolero International, since this was the first time either Portuguese company has used the paperless Bolero trade finance digitisation platform. It also marks Bolero’s entry into the Portuguese financial eco-system as part of its continuing global growth.
As a fully end-to-end electronic presentation (ePresentation) including the Bolero eBL (electronic bill of lading), all parties to this transaction were connected to the Bolero trade digitisation platform. Mibepa was the customer and applicant, with CGD acting as the first-ever Portuguese ePresentation receiving bank. The shipment was conveyed by one of the world’s largest container logistics companies. The letter of credit for the transaction was issued under eUCP and all documents required under this letter of credit, including the bill of lading, were presented electronically using the Bolero trade digitisation platform, supported by the unique Bolero legal rulebook.
Armando Santos, Head of Corporate Banking Marketing at CGD: “The Bolero trade digitisation platform made this first transaction fast and simple, overcoming all the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic. We use digital technology that helps our customers achieve significant efficiencies. We are very pleased to become Bolero subscribers and expect more of our customers to embrace Bolero and the benefits of trade document digitisation.”
Paulo Dinis, CEO at Mibepa: “Achieving fast turnaround in this transaction despite the coronavirus was a big advantage for us as an expanding business with international relationships. Bolero’s trade digitisation solution met all our expectations, enabling us to avoid any problems caused by the pandemic. I’m sure this is set to be the first of more such transactions.”
Adam Kasraoui, Bolero: “Great to see a major bank like CGD expand its digital transformation to trade and shipping documentation including the electronic Bill of Lading. We are continually committed to facilitating the adoption of our technology that allows importers and exporters to securely exchange documentation with their trade ecosystem.”
For more information, please contact:
Joanna Elliott
The Whiteoaks Consultancy
Tel: + 44 (0) 1252 727313