1. Report | Mobile Technology
A work in progress
Mobile banking solutions have the potential to bring
a raft of new efficiencies to trade finance, but there is
still a long road to travel before they are fully realised.
Ben Poole reports.
I
n the corporate sector, mobile banking be of senior level within the organisation,
solutions are still in the development and it is that level of individual that may
stage. As a sector, it is lagging behind the be out of the office quite regularly. It is
consumer segment, where individuals possible to display what has been previously
are more comfortable doing a variety of been entered on a desktop in a mobile
activities on their phones, and have the solution, and have the manager click
solutions readily available to do so. For ‘approve’ or send back corrections by
corporates, there is rightly a lot more using a mobile device.
concern around security and protecting
confidential information, such as account or Desktop vs mobile
counterparty information. With access to trade data possible from
In the trade finance space in particular, beyond the confines of the office, the
mobile banking tools are really just starting. information that corporates can access The concept is that a client can be looking
Many banks are trying to take a subset of from their desktops and mobile devices at information on their iPad on the commute
what they have available on their client needs to be seamlessly synchronised. into the office, and be assured that they
portals, and make these available to “Any trade information that you wish to can start working where they left off once
corporates on mobile devices. Typically, access, from whichever type of device they arrive at the office and switch on their
these will allow the user to view statuses or you are in front of at the time, has to come desktop computer.
transactions that have already taken place from the same source. This is the guiding A trade finance transaction can of
through some other means. principle behind our Straight 2 Bank suite of course involve more than just a bank and
One element that immediately places a products,” explains Gautam Jain, managing a corporate, and the new mobile banking
constraint on the functionality of a trade director and global head of client access, tools that are just starting to come online
finance mobile tool is the large quantity of transaction banking at Standard Chartered. also have potential for counterparties and
data usually involved in a trade transaction.
Take an application submitted by a
corporate to a bank for a letter of credit (LC),
for example. The quantity of data that has to “Any trade information that you wish to
be input to do that means that the process access, from whichever type of device you
is quite prohibitive to do on a mobile device.
Where mobile tools can play a part in are in front of at the time, has to come
enhancing efficiency in the trade process
is by allowing people to approve data that
from the same source.”
has already been entered by somebody by Gautam Jain, Standard Chartered
a desktop computer. Typically the person
approving these types of transactions will
22 | GTR Sibos Supplement 2012 www.gtreview.com

2. Mobile Technology | Report
clients of the corporate. Fran Martell, global how to develop the solutions that are of not exist in this space, and therefore this is
trade capabilities product manager at Citi, most use to their customers. “While banks something that banks need to address when
describes how this can be simply achieved: can develop solutions that easily run on developing solutions.”
“Citi Trade Advisor lets not only our clients, most desktop computers, the same is not One issue that banks are addressing as
but also their counterparties, run a quick true in the tablet space and mobile banking. they bring a solution to market is how to
query about a transaction. They need two This is due to the proliferation of different access the solution. One option is to provide
pieces of information to view data related to
the transaction - a reference number (a bank
or customer reference) and the value of the “While banks can develop solutions that
transaction.” A solution that operates within
these parameters lends itself to a mobile easily run on most desktop computers, the
capability, as the user is only required to same is not true in the tablet space and
enter two data elements to receive a status
update. Solutions need to be informative and mobile banking.”
still protect the client’s data, something that Tan Kah Chye, Barclays
can be tricky in the trade finance space.
While mobile technologies such as
smartphones and tablets have the potential manufacturers and the array of software a mobile internet solution that customers
to offer greater visibility and efficiencies, the that their smartphones and tablets run on,” can access through their mobile browser. The
market is still in its relative infancy, and this says Tan Kah Chye, global head of trade alternative is to package the solution in an
is causing some headaches for trade finance and working capital at Barclays Corporate. app that is then downloaded onto the mobile
solution providers as they try to understand “The standardisation of technology does device. Both options have their advantages.
www.gtreview.com GTR Sibos Supplement 2012 | 23

3. Report | Mobile Technology
“Trade Advisor is a mobile internet solution
rather than an app,” explains Citi’s Martell.
“In development, when we looked at the
corporate space, we saw people using
very different types of phones, for example
Blackberry seemed to be very prominent.
Mobile internet is a way of reaching every
device with one solution.”
However, apps do have their advantages
Tan Kah Chye, Barclays Adnan Ghani, RBS Guatam Jain, Standard Chartered
too. They are more likely to be optimised
to the screen size of the smart phone or
tablet, and some can provide the capability
of doing a limited amount of work while the
device is offline. Whether or not a bank has
the inclination to develop a number of apps
for the same solution across the variety of
mobile operating systems that exist is open
to question.
Current tools and With the most recent update, we have it is a standard that will be used for many
future concepts introduced trade limits and utilisation products and not just payments,” says
As has been mentioned, the facility to reporting as well.” Adnan Ghani, head of transaction services
initiate a trade transaction via a mobile While this provides useful additional origination, UK (international), network and C
device is rather impractical. This is functionality, it is still the tip of the iceberg trade at RBS. “Swift has adopted this and so
M
simply because it is difficult to initiate of what could be achieved in the mobile have banks, and not just in the payments
a documentary trade transaction on an banking space for trade finance. To offer space. The RBS trade portal MaxTrad is Y
electronic device. more, mobile solutions need to follow the XML-ready, for example. This will help us CM
However, open account and, more recently, path trodden by their desktop cousins – standardise our offering, which in turn will MY
the bank payment obligation (BPO), lend namely standardisation, automation and help our clients to be able to deal with
CY
themselves much more to electronic
initiation, and some banks will be trying to CMY
understand if it is in any way possible to
integrate something along these lines into
“The beauty of the XML file format is that it K
their mobile trade offerings. is a standard that will be used for many
“A significant difference in open trade
from traditional trade is that the users
products and not just payments.”
of open trade are both large corporates Adnan Ghani, RBS
as well as small and medium-sized firms
across the entire supplier eco-system,”
says Raj Subramaniam, product strategy combined channels. multiple banks using the same standard.”
and marketing, Global CASHplus, Fundtech. The goal is to provide a mobile trade It is also important to take a holistic view
“The smaller corporates are much more solution that is multi-bank from a client’s of trade finance in the mobile age; to view it
inclined to quickly embrace opportunities perspective – one channel using one set of as more than about having a single point of
for additional efficiency, with a focus on standards, rather than corporates having to contact between the bank and the corporate.
faster decision making and quick and simple tweak how they deal with different banks. Some of the more challenging aspects of
operational processes. Making available In the trade space, banks need to sit down trade finance are found before and after
trade-related data on mobile, and facilitating with corporates and technology providers that contact.
invoice and payment processing is a great to establish common goals and how this “I think that, over the next five years,
benefit for such nimbler corporates.” standardisation can progress. we will see more vertical integration of the
Today, authorisation and monitoring are The ISO XML standards are a part of this. trade finance activities that happen before
the two areas that are already within the Not only is XML being used in the single and after the bank/customer contact,” says
reach of the banks. Standard Chartered’s euro payments area (SEPA), but it can also Barclays’ Tan. “A good example of this would
Jain provides an example of the types of be used in trade. The future is heading be the credit approval process – I can see
services readily available via mobile: “In towards more connected functionalities this type of approval process being available
terms of monitoring the status of trade and services, with corporates being able to on mobile banking solutions.”
transactions, we offer LC summaries, access different banks and data through the There is clearly a lot of work to be done,
bills and collections reporting, and trade same technology and file formats. but the potential for mobile banking in trade
authorisations for corporates and SMEs. “The beauty of the XML file format is that finance is huge. GTR
24 | GTR Sibos Supplement 2012 www.gtreview.com