Stockholm-headquartered technology firm Enigio has launched a “self-serve” tool for electronic trade documents, allowing companies to receive digital originals without the need to join its network.
Typically, electronic trade document platforms require all counterparties to sign up before documents such as electronic bills of lading can be transferred, the company says.
However, the self-serve product means recipients do not need to register or join Enigio’s system in order to receive original trade documents in digital form. The only company that must have a relationship with Enigio is the creator of the document, it says.
The company says the launch will remove friction for trade finance providers, freight forwarders and SMEs. It can also be used for documents such as guarantees, promissory notes and certificates of origin.
“Businesses told us they were tired of lost time, courier bills, transport incidents and the stress of chasing paper,” says Enigio chief executive Patrik Zekkar.
“They wanted a way to act quickly and simply, without committing to system integration and similar tech barriers.”
Zekkar tells GTR that digital documents sent via the channel are “freely transferable and freely operational” once received. They can be managed, transferred and signed electronically without the use of Enigio’s systems.
The company’s trace:original software is used to ensure documents are traceable and cannot be tampered with, but for the recipient, they “look like PDFs”, Zekkar says.
Users can pay by subscription or on a per-document basis, and the tool is also available as a white-label service.
The launch, announced today, follows a period of testing with select customers. Enigio says one US logistics manager it interviewed describes instant transfer as a “game-changer”.
For Zekkar, simplifying the use of electronic trade documents could be particularly beneficial in developing markets with limited access to finance.
“The big chunk of business is the low-value transactions,” he says. “We want to reach the small farmers and cooperatives in Africa, because when you do that, you are able to use financial instruments like bills of exchange to create liquidity and close the trade finance gap.
“If we solve that, we can have universal, global digitalisation. This is the part we want to see expand quickest.”
