HSBC announced on Wednesday at Sibos that it is expanding the trade finance solutions it offers to businesses trading on e-commerce platforms in mainland China and Hong Kong, following the successful launch of its partnership with Dowsure Technologies.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) typically face challenges securing trade finance, but by using real-time trade data through Dowsure, HSBC can offer finance to merchants based on their transaction data. Dowsure, Amazon’s lending partner, provides the HSBC interface, while Amazon offers trade data on the Amazon platform.
“This is a huge opportunity for suppliers and e-commerce platforms,” says Vivek Ramachandran, Head of Global Trade Solutions: HSBC. “As an SME business customer on a major trading platform such as Amazon, Alibaba or XYZ.com, you can get financing. You can click the button at the point of purchase to pay now or in 30 days. A major seller knows you and has a relationship with you, so giving you this landing page increases sales.”
Ramachandran says it’s a business decision for a large retailer because it trusts the data and relationships with previous sales. “I know you will get back to me so we can truly include built-in financing in this journey.”
He is enthusiastic about what this could mean for SMEs, saying: “This is where the next wave of innovation in trade finance will come because e-commerce is growing faster than finance and we need to change. Sellers on e-commerce platforms are customers of both small and large businesses, and we hope to make financing much more accessible today.”
Historically, trade relationships have been built on intimacy. Ramachandran says that with so much data available, you can trade anonymously while maintaining the trust that comes from good practice and consistency.