The Bank of China and the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) have completed their first collaborative electronic document presentations on the Bolero platform.

The documents presented include those in the areas of documentary credit and electronic bills of lading.

The Bank of China is the first of country’s ‘big four’ to use any kind of electronic presentation of documents and officials spoke of the interest in exploring the area further. “In China there is interest in exploring the use of electronic documents and an electronic bill of lading. As a major Chinese bank, Bank of China is keen to be involved in a programme which is proven and has been demonstrated to meet the needs of the banking community,” says Zhang Xinyuan, the bank’s general manager, global trade services.

RBS has a long history of working with Bolero and was the first bank to implement the platform for electronic document presentation on a global basis.

RBS’s head of trade product management for Asia Pacific Sim Woon Yap says: “RBS is committed in ensuring that our deep expertise, experience and capabilities in trade translate into tangible benefits for our clients. Electronic presentation of documents help our clients streamline their trade finance processes, shorten the days’ sales outstanding and maximise their overall working capital. We will continue to be a pioneer in the electronic presentation space and championing the straight-through processing agenda for the advancement of the trade industry.”

Bolero’s CEO Arthur Vonchek adds: “The decision by Bank of China to use Bolero underlines the necessity for banks and corporates to select an electronic trade network that has a track record of success and proven experience in complex financial transactions including electronic bills of lading and all other required shipping documents.”