UK-based retail banking company Lloyds Bank has developed a digital trading solution that aims to support businesses to transact more efficiently. The new solution allows clients to request digital Direct Guarantees or Standby Letters of Credit, aiming to help them trade more effectively, safely, and securely.

Designed to support businesses that have a high volume of transactions requiring bank guarantees to be issued, Paperless Guarantee enables instant delivery to recipients while minimising their carbon footprint. More information about Paperless Guarantee Expert Market Research estimated that trade finance results in approximately 28.5 billion pieces of paper moving around the world each year. Through this new initiative, Lloyds Bank aims to further support clients who want to secure new business and meet contractual obligations, reduce time, cost, and logistics, as well as minimise carbon emissions through lowering the need to courier paper. According to Lloyd Bank’s officials, the bank worked with its clients and their buyers and sellers to have a thorough understanding of the process of trading internationally.

The Paperless Guarantee initiative provides customers with a solution that solves a part of the challenges they currently face. ABTA, a travel trade body for UK travel agents, tour operators, and the wider travel industry, collaborated with Lloyds Bank to transfer to a paperless format, aiming to introduce this new process to other approved bond providers. The bank estimates that, when the process is complete, the change could eliminate the use of at least 3,500 pieces of paper each year. Clients that use Lloyd Bank’s digital Trade platform LOTS to manage their transactions, can select the PDF via email option to receive their guarantee, while the ones using the application need to select the Paperless e-signed PDF Undertaking option.

Once the application is completed, the guarantee will be emailed to the beneficiary, removing the need to wait for it to arrive via post or courier. Lloyds Bank’s recent developments Recently, Lloyds Bank partnered with BlackRock’s iShares for the launch of an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) service for the retail investor market. Through this collaboration, the ETF Quicklist is set to provide access to 16 UK-listed ETFs to do-it-yourself investors, with the selection narrowing the choices faced by customers who have over 600 ETFs to choose from on the bank’s platform. During the same period, Yoti, a UK-based digital identity company, launched a new digital ID app in collaboration with Lloyds Bank.

The release of Lloyds Bank Smart ID follows the banking group’s GBP 10 million investment in Yoti, with the funds supporting the development of a reusable digital identity app that reduces the increasing risk of identity fraud. Moreover, at the end of September 2023, Visa partnered with Lloyds Bank to launch a virtual card solution for businesses of all sizes. Following the announcement, Visa Commercial Pay is available for the bank’s customers, addressing businesses’ payments and purchasing issues, including controlling spend, simplifying processes, reconciling invoices, and reporting on expenditures. .