Blockchain trade finance network Contour has partnered with supply chain data firm Chinsay in order to build out more opportunities for fully digital trade.

Chinsay, a Swedish tech firm focusing on the end-to-end administration of contracts in global commodities and freight markets, will act as an order partner on Contour (formerly known as Voltron), bringing in its Intelligent Contract Platform (ICP) tool, which allows corporates to capture contract data and share it with other businesses which need access or input.

The tool, which was launched in 2019, digitalises pre-trade processes early in the deal lifecycle, creating an agreed contract dataset that all stakeholders can create, review, approve and sign in real time. This contract can be integrated with other operational systems, functions and processes, enabling transparency and traceability across the supply chain.

“Equal access is a hugely important factor for trade,” says Colin Hayward, CEO at Chinsay. “Businesses need to engage with one another, and have a clear overview of information and transparency in their data in order to benefit from a deal. This is not only to reduce concerns about the risk that occurs when information is vague or delayed, but it also makes better business sense.”

The solution’s successful application using Contour’s technology in the 2019 live transaction between Rio Tinto and Cargill provided the foundation for this new partnership. That transaction saw Rio Tinto and Cargill use Chinsay’s ICP to digitally create, issue, approve and digitally sign commodity contracts, bringing down the time for issuance of the letter of credit (LC) to under two hours, from one to two days for a traditional, paper-based LC.

According to Contour, the combination of its network with Chinsay’s ICP will allow for improved communication when conducting LC issuance between banks and corporates. The firm says it will now continue to seek new partnerships with other experts in the sector to expand the accessibility of its network.