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TradeCard Inc, the provider of on-demand financial supply chain services, has announced a partnership agreement with Taiwan-based Chang Hwa Bank that provides TradeCard members in Taiwan with a new source of financing through the TradeCard platform.


Chang Hwa Bank, one of the leading trade finance banks in Taiwan and one of the top 500 banks worldwide, offers three types of financing to TradeCard member companies in Taiwan: pre-export, post-export and early payment financing. Chang Hwa is the seventh bank in Taiwan to partner with TradeCard and the 15th bank globally to offer financing services on TradeCard. Since TradeCard started offering financing to companies who use its automated global trade platform in 2000, the financing volume has grown by over 60% each year.


Financing is one of the major concerns for Asian exporters, especially small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), the majority of which have limited working capital. They often rely on loans that enable them to purchase the raw materials and labour for production when they receive an order.  There are over 1 million SMEs in Taiwan alone.


 “As a forward-looking bank we grow with our customers and believe that the automation of trade finance services will help both our customers and Chang Hwa Bank to keep our competitive edge in an increasingly difficult export environment,” notes a representative from Chang Hwa. “TradeCard is the ideal partner because we can use our combined strengths to improve the competitiveness of Taiwan’s export industries whose largely paper-laden operations have huge potential for streamlining through automation.”


TradeCard’s web-based platform automates the workflow in trade transactions from procurement to payment. All it takes to apply for financing is the click of a mouse, speeding up the application turnaround for financing services for TradeCard member companies, claims the firm. Through using TradeCard, members decide their financing requirements on a transactional basis to fit their needs. In comparison, traditional factoring of open account transactions requires the seller to finance his entire season or annual sales.


For Chang Hwa Bank, financing of a TradeCard member is more cost-effective than traditional financing, TradeCard announces. The automation of the application and decision-making process reduces paperwork, and the credit risk is reduced as visibility is gained into the complete transaction cycle. Other TradeCard partner banks report reduction of paperwork of 50% overall.


“We see Chang Hwa Bank as a like-minded partner who fully understands the real needs of their customers for faster and more reliable financing,” says Kurt Cavano, chairman and CEO of TradeCard. “In a market such as Taiwan, where electronic transactions are heavily promoted by the government, we expect demand for automated financing and transaction services to increase dramatically over the coming year, and this additional financing option gives our customers greater choice and flexibility.”