In a first-of-its-kind industry initiative, ICICI Bank Limited, has launched Digital Solutions For Exporters, a comprehensive set of banking and value-added services on a single platform.
- The initiative intends to improve operational efficiency of exporters by decongesting the current time-consuming manual procedures.
Significance
i.The set of solutions digitizes every stage of the export process, including market research, export financing, foreign exchange (forex) services, and receiving export incentives.
ii.Additionally, the package of solutions provides first-in-the-industry features including Trade APIs (Application Programming Interface) and instant disbursal of Export Packing Credits (Insta EPC).
- Insta EPC instantly provides export financing, and Trade APIs facilitate easy handling of export transactions directly from Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems of the exporters, offering increased convenience.
iii.This comprehensive suite of digital solutions enables large, medium, and emerging businesses to undertake export transactions online, anywhere, and at any time.
Note: India’s total exports increased by 36% to over USD 670 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2022 from FY 2021, and are projected to reach USD 2 trillion by 2030.
Key Services and Offerings of the Digital Solutions for Exporters
Insta EPC:
i.Exporters with an ICICI Bank relationship will benefit from the ease of instant and digital Export Packing Credit (EPC).
- This service is available for export-import transactions through ‘Trade Online’, the flagship digital platform of ICICI Bank.
ii.Insta EPC offers fast credit disbursement in minutes, as compared to the industry standard of a few working days.
- This facility gives exporters instant access to funds for same-day use, enhancing operational efficiency.
Trade APIs:
i.ICICI Bank provides Trade APIs, a future-ready industry-first solution for the seamless handling of export bills.
- APIs include Remittances, Letters of Credit, and Bank Guarantees.
ii.The Trade API solution offers exporters a simplified “Do It Yourself” (DIY) experience anytime, anywhere.
- APIs allow exporters to initiate transactions through their ERPs with the bank directly, increasing productivity.
Trade Accounts:
i.The Trade Accounts solution provides foreign currency accounts, notably the Exchange Earners’ Foreign Currency Account (EEFC).
- This current account enables exporters to keep their foreign currency earnings in the account without converting them into the local currency. It assists exporters in lowering their forex transaction charges.
ii.Additionally, it provides specialised current accounts like the One Globe Trade Account (OGTA) for transactions involving import and export.
Paperless Exports Solutions:
i.ICICI Bank’s digital solutions have facilitated the digital filing of documents, settlement, and reconciliation of export invoices, by streamlining exporters’ experiences across various stages.
- Its digital solutions include e-Softex, which caters to information technology (IT) / IT enabled services (ITeS) exporters) as well as e-DOCs (electronic documents).
ii.It offers the great convenience of reducing the current industry practices of a few days to near real time for these transactions, allowing exporters to claim their export incentives faster.
Foreign Exchange Solution:
Exporters can use digital platforms to book forex deals over the phone or online to achieve flexibility and transparency in booking rates.
Digital Letter of Credit facility (e-LC):
Exporters can make use of the e-LC facility, a digital repository that makes Letter of Credit (LC) available in real time for the verification of trade terms.
Electronic Bills of Lading (e-BL):
i.ICICI Bank has collaborated with major electronic bill of lading (e-BL) service providers to enable the end-to-end digital movement of trade documents globally.
- An e-BL is a new electronic version of the traditional bill of lading.
- A Bill of Lading is a document that the Carrier of goods issues to the “Shipper” of the goods. It’s a document to provide evidence or proof of shipment.
- The e-BL performs the same functions, and in addition it improves the speed, security and accuracy of information.
ii.This improves working capital management by cutting the turnaround time from the standard industry practice of 8–10 days to a couple of days.
Value Added Services:
i.Trade Emerge, the one-stop platform of ICICI Bank, offers a full digital suite of various banking and non-banking services for companies, and can provide value-added services to exporters.
ii.The platform enables an end-to-end journey from business incorporation to regulatory guidelines, partner discovery, logistics, and cargo tracking, through a range of services provided by trusted alliance partners.
Recent related News:
ICICI Bank Limited has launched two new products, Loan Against Deposits (LAD) and Dollar Bonds for Non Resident Indian (NRI) customers at its branch in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), a Gujarat-based emerging global financial and Information Technology (IT) services hub. ICICI Bank becomes the first bank to offer such products in GIFT City, Gujarat.
About the ICICI Bank Limited:
Managing Director (MD) & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) – Sandeep Bakhshi
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
Establishment – 1994
