UAE Trade Connect (UTC), a national trade finance platform which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Etisalat Group, has crossed the milestone of handling invoices worth $2.72 billion within its first eight months of operation.
The amount reflects the value of invoices presented by member banks into the UTC system for fraud analysis and duplicate financing checks. The consortium includes the Commercial Bank of Dubai, Commercial Bank International, Emirates NBD, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Mashreq Bank, National Bank of Fujairah, and National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah. The Central Bank of UAE (CBUAE) is an observing member of the UTC Steering Committee.
Zul Javaid CEO – UTC
“UTC is recognized as one of the most successful blockchain-led use cases that actually solve real-world problems. We are pleased to announce that in just a few months since UTC’s launch, our consortium banks have performed their invoice-level due diligence in real-time. Crossing the $2.72 billion mark represents a landmark achievement for this nationwide platform that is aligned with the UAE government’s vision to bring futuristic technologies such as blockchain and is set to be another enabler for economic growth.”
The first-of-its-kind nationwide trade finance platform, UTC is developed on the basis of advanced technologies, namely blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI). Launched commercially in April this year, the platform was co-created by Etisalat Digital along with seven leading UAE banks and initially ideated by First Abu Dhabi Bank. Several other banks are currently piloting the platform and have expressed an interest in joining the consortium in 2022.
