Trade Club Alliance: Global financial leaders to launch digital platform
Financial leaders from banks around the world will convene in London today to mark the official launch of the Trade Club Alliance. The gathering of fourteen partner banks that make up the Alliance, marks the official launch of an all-new digital platform – the first of its kind – that will help businesses bolster global trade.
The new platform will help identify businesses that are looking to trade goods internationally and will provide insight on regulations and trade tariffs for the relevant countries. It will provide members with market information on more than 180 countries including currency analysis, market trends and shipping requirements, serving as a conduit for trusted buyers and suppliers to connect with counterparts in markets around the world.
The initiative was created by Santander in 2015, to connect businesses in Europe with Latin America. Following its success, the programme was rolled out worldwide and saw the formation of the Trade Club Alliance. The partner banks that make up the alliance cover some of the world’s most established and fast-growing markets, such as Africa, Latin America and South East Asia. By 2022, more than 90% of global trade corridors will be covered by the platform, helping more than a million companies worldwide.
Jon Barañano, chairman of the Trade Club Alliance, commented: “The launch of the Trade Club Alliance marks the start of a relationship for businesses with their banks that is more than simply as a finance provider – but as a strategic business partner who guides them through the labyrinth of international trade. This transformative trade platform will strengthen existing ties and revolutionise the way businesses seek opportunities in new markets.”
John Carroll, head of international, Santander UK, added: “There are companies around the world that feel unable to export because trade barriers are plentiful while practical export advice is sparse. This digital platform will break down obstacles for businesses around the world, thanks to the strong network of partners which have come together to form the Trade Club Alliance. We see this as the solution that businesses have been looking for, allowing them to build tangible trade links with international partners from the comfort of their own office.”
Key benefits of the Trade Club Alliance platform:
• State-of-the-art technologies: uses machine learning and cloud-based services with the best of breed social networking capabilities, comprehensive content and corporate banking advisory;
• Efficiency: helps accelerate the exchange of goods and services by uncovering ideal trade partnership opportunities and then simplifies the transaction process;
• Local support: Alliance banks’ dedicated “Experts & Community managers” teams are available to offer advice at all stages of exporting and importing activity and financing alternatives;
• Market analysis: over 25,000 market reports from 186 countries;
• Commercial partners: 2,000 directories from 150 countries, 40,000 commercial fairs, 1,000,000 international tenders;
• Manage shipments: databases for over 120 countries;
• Analyse currencies: conversions of 147 currencies and weekly and monthly reports; and
• Set up abroad: information on over 182 countries with over 2,500 pages.
This digital platform is available to trusted businesses of all sizes and will fully cover sectors including agriculture, machinery, textiles, chemicals, woods plastics and metals. Each Alliance bank is responsible for vetting businesses before they become a member, and will help oversee the admission process, actively identify and facilitate business opportunities and coordinate trade missions on the ground.
Members of the Trade Club Alliance will be assigned a Business Card, where they can provide details of their business proposition, industry and overarching goals. In addition to the digital platform offering market insight, companies can seek advice on financial products that would suit their needs from any one of the Alliance banks.
The full list of partner banks are: Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Attiijariwafa Group, Banco BPM, Banco Santander, Royal Bank of Canada, CIMB, Crédit Agricole Group, Eurobank, KBC Group, Industrial Bank of Korea, MUFG, Nordea Group, Siam Commercial Bank, and Standard Bank.
