The DNI Initiative has established the most specialised community of technology firms, financial institutions, corporates and additional stakeholders committed to digitise trade documents and negotiable instruments as per UNCITRAL MLETR-compatible laws.

“The DNI Initiative has demonstrated how existing technologies facilitate the roll-out of MLETR-compatible laws. Over the last 2 years, both Finastra and China Systems extensively shared their ambition in that space and provided strategic proof points through the integration of Enigio’s dDOC-compliant technology.”, explains André Casterman, Chair Fintech Committee, ITFA. “We are now concentrating on the demand side, i.e., helping corporates and trade digitisation platforms discover the benefits of digital trade instruments focusing primarily on bills of exchange, promissory notes and guarantees.”

As we enter the commercialisation phase of the DNI Initiative, we are delighted to welcome the following 12 institutions to the initiative: UK Export Finance, HMRC, Nokia, Emirates NBD, Lloyds Bank, SMBC, Mitigram, CargoX, Automaxis, Norex International, Coriolis Technologies and XDC Network. Here is their feedback:

Laura Salli, Head of Trade Finance, Nokia says: “Digitising trade flows is important for Nokia and we are constantly looking for better ways to manage trade finance. We are now at a stage where focus is on digitising documents such as guarantees. I am looking forward to benefit from new technologies to make this happen.”

Vikas Jha, Emirates NBD, Group Head- Trade and Supply Chain, Emirates NBD says: “Negotiable instruments are of vital importance in the Middle East. Given the recent policy decisions around MLETR, it is vital for Emirates NBD to prepare for the new digital options that our corporates will adopt. We are delighted to contribute to this global move towards digital trade.”

Carl Williamson, Head of Trade Finance at UKEF says: “Digitisation can make trade easier and more cost effective for businesses. We are committed to making it easier for exporters to access our support. That means we need to be aware of digital innovations in the market that impact international trade. We welcome any insights this initiative can provide to move trade into the digital age, helping us improve our offer to exporters.”

Milena Torciano, CEO, Mitigram adds: “Mitigram has become the most interoperable trade platform for corporates and banks. We recently integrated the SWIFT channel in support of our multi-banking trade application, and we are now looking at supporting the market to take advantage of MLETR-compliant trade instruments.”

Peter Kern, COO, CargoX adds: “Interoperability is part of CargoX DNA. We strongly believe in the benefits of MLETR and want to become the first e-bill of lading platform implementing to comply with the dDOC specifications defined by ITFA DNI Initiative.”

Pratik Sharma, COO, Automaxis says: “International trade becomes easier with interoperability. We are committed to support MLETR-compatible innovations so documents created on Automaxis such as certificates of origin and bills of lading become interoperable as they get transferred to any party in the world.”

John Cherkezian, President, Norex International adds: “The trade finance community is keenly aware of the significant benefits of interoperable trade finance platforms. Norex’s clients are eager for MLETR-compliant platforms and products to simplify and speed transaction execution. Our commodity traders and manufacturers recognize the basic, clear advantages of the DNI Initiative and are ready to embrace this technology.”

Rebecca Harding, CEO, Coriolis Technologies says: “We are excited to be part of the DNI Initiative which is the sector coming together to enable the Digital and the ESG agendas to start to work together. This work comes at a critical time for trade as the world pulls out of the pandemic. There is a huge opportunity for consensus around digital and sustainability standards to be built into the existing and emerging solutions that are involved with DNI, and it is a huge privilege to be contributing with our ESG scoring and passporting technologies.”

Atul Khekade, co-founder of XDC Network says: “MLETR is the most suitable use case for blockchain technology, and in particular public ledger technology. XDC Network brings the needed blockchain infrastructure to support interoperability across financial institutions, platforms and eco-systems. We are delighted to work with members of the DNI Initiative, and Enigio in particular, to bring MLETR to life in the most interoperable, secure and cost-efficient way.”

Sean Edwards, Chair, ITFA, concludes: “ITFA takes responsibility for making electronic negotiable instruments work in the trade market, and we are committed to supporting all stakeholders in this journey with a focus on policy making and technology integration.”

Initial members of the DNI Initiative include a mix of technology, advisory and law firms: Enigio, China Systems, Finastra, Cleareye.ai, MonetaGo, Casterman Advisory, Tesselate, TAN and Sullivan & Worcester (law firm).