Exploring we.trade platform

• 28 September 2019 | 1389 Views | By Mint2Save

Though international trade has been going on since the medieval times, the complexities and risk associated have been haunting the exporters, importers, regulatory bodies and the banks.
Lack of transparency, issues pertaining to logistics, unwillingness to take risk on new buyer / seller are some of the major concerns for every party indulged in the business of international trade. Enter “We.Trade”, a blockchain based trade platform. The article reveals important information about blockchain and we.trade platform as both of them are related in a particular way. Before hopping to trade, let’s have some info about blockchain and how it works. 

The term block in Blockchain refers to a tool storing record. In simple words, it stores all the information which includes names, date, time and the amount invested or transferred. The blocks or set of records increases by the addition of the user’s information. 

“Blockchain Technology” is a relatively more transparent, accessible record book, which is difficult to tamper. This technology has found several ways, where it can be used in exploring financial services. The knowledge about blockchain is necessary to understand we.trade platform as it is completely based on blockchain technology.

Introduction to We.Trade

We.trade is result of collaboration by seven banks under the Digital Trade Consortium Platform (comprising of Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Natixis, Rabobank, Societe Generale, Unicredit), along with IBM through its Hyperledger platform.

We.trade can be referred to as a convenient or fresh digital platform which allows the user to have different kinds of trading options. In any trade, the most important thing is having ‘trust’ and we.trade provide that kind of trust to its users. 

The business sector and various banks of Europe have collaborated with we.trade in order to provide a transparent and impeccable environment to its users for their growth and development. We.trade provide opportunities without any type of risk which makes it better than most of the trading platform. As per the reports, there has been an average growth of 38% per month throughout the year 2019. The unique feature is that one can have contracts in various languages.

Data uploaded to Blockchain while trading through we.trade

The way privacy plays an important role in life, likewise security and privacy matters in the case of trade and business also. Nobody wants his/her important information to be shared. So, one makes sure that information is shared only to those who deserve it otherwise it can become too dangerous for an individual. 

One thing must be kept in mind that while trading on we.trade, information about trade is shared only among the buyer, seller, & the banks involved in the trade. The details of the trade are uploaded on such a channel which includes only buyer and seller bank nodes. Hence, all the important information and data of trade is stored in the blockchain while personal data does not require to be uploaded on the blockchain. 

Availability of We.Trade Platform

We.trade was launched in April, 2019 and “the pilot” was soon implemented by various banks. After seeing its success, Nordea (one of the largest financial group in Europe) made it available for every type of its business customer. It is a risk-free place which allows companies in Europe to trade among themselves without any hassle. Three important pillars of we.trade are – trust, security, and risk-free. 

Benefits of we.trade

Everyone desires to have some benefit from the work in which they are involved. We.trade is a platform which possesses various benefits to its users. Some of them are as follows: –

1. Being built on Blockchain, We.Trade has an automated and secure payment method which makes it different from other trading platforms.
2. It allows you to track the entire trade journey so that you can monitor your growth and development. 
3. We.trade provides financial confidence to its customers so that both the parties can fulfill their terms & conditions and have trust before trading with each other.
4. It allows risk-free trading to its customers to make them compatible with trade market.  
5. We.trade provide transparent trading to its customers which creates and encourages trust among them. 
6. One can trade smartly using we.trade platform as deals or trade is completed in no time and without the headache of paperwork. 
7. It helps in identifying all the parties available on the platform so that customers can have all the necessary information about the companies with which they are going to trade. 
8. It is a new & fresh platform open for all no matter how big or small business you have.
9. The transparency of the trade helps in convincing all the parties that all the members of the trade are dependable.

Banks associated with we.trade

As mentioned earlier, it has collaboration with various banks of Europe. The collaboration of banks with we.trade will take the trade finance to a different height. Since the competitors are coming together it will help in solving all the problems and complications. Let’s look at the banks associated with it: –

• Caixa bank
• Euro bank
• ERSTE Group
• CSOB
• HSBC
• KBC
• NATIXIS
• Nordea
• Rabo bank
• Santander
• Societe Generale
• UBS
• UniCredit
• Deutsche bank

Customer Reviews

The customer reviews, news reports and bank reports seem to have gone the positive while giving feedback on the we.trade platform. 

A customer from France said, “ We are completely satisfied with we.trade: an innovative digital solution that is very user-friendly. This platform enables to reduce the turn around time in a exceptional manner, via real-time data exchange with our suppliers and bank.”

A customer from Holland said, “Building up trust in a new supplier takes time. Through we.trade we can immediately start trading with parties that are on the platform.”

A customer from Italy said, “ We decided to innovate and be the first company in Italy to use we.trade, to support a completely digital, linear, transparent and easy-to-monitor order management process.”

Is we.trade risky or safe?

We.trade is essentially a Blockchain platform. Blockchain is inherently known to be a robust / almost tamper proof technology. The platform offers a well bifurcated trade assistance services for buyers (importers) and sellers (exporters). Further, since top international banks are already incorporating the platform in their day to day business, the platform does seem to fulfil the banking necessities of :

(a) Four eye principles,

(b)KYC verification,

(c) Complying anti money laundering norms,

(d) Managing counterparty risk.

(e) Timely trade settlement, thus complying regulatory and commercial norms,

(f) Exploring options of finance based on invoice.

(g) Aiding in export documentation and creation of small contracts.

As per the features it provides and on the basis of customer reviews, it can be said that we.trade is not risky. Rather than being risky, it is user-friendly and safe for trading. Hence, one must give a try to we.trade for the upliftment of business. 

We.trade digital trade platform allows each and every person to invest, buy or sell. Relatively new in the business, we.trade has a lot of potential to be The day it will allow trading globally, various types of options will be created to increase the profit as well as the growth of the companies. It is currently available for the business persons of Europe. However, it is anticipated to allow people to trade globally in the upcoming years.