Lloyds Bank has announced the completion of its first India-UK digital Letter of Credit (LC) transaction.

The move replaced the traditional, paper-based trade finance process, which usually take days or weeks of document handling, with an instant exchange between parties.

The transaction, a Documentary Credit in favour of West Yorkshire-based laboratory equipment business, Labtex, was completed by Lloyds and an unnamed major Indian bank.

Documentary letters of credit enable importers and exporters to deal in confidence with one another because they have knowledge that payment will be made if the transaction is carried out in accordance with the terms of the letter.

The transaction was carried out on WaveBL, a blockchain-based platform for digital trade documents.

Lloyds said that the ability to transmit and resubmit documents instantly has removed one of the "main barriers" to faster processing, opening the door to real-time trade.

It added that the move marks a broader shift from paperwork-driven transactions to a "faster, more connected" trade environment.

Lloyds currently serves over one million UK businesses with digital and relationship banking services.

“UK businesses are increasingly recognising how digital innovation can unlock growth opportunities,” said Surath Sengupta, head of transaction banking products, Lloyds. “By enabling documents to be presented instantly, this technology removes delays and accelerates access to finance."

He continued: “In this case, the speed of digital presentation supported a financing opportunity that would have been impossible using traditional paper processes, given the short payment term. This is the future, supporting the ambitions of the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement.”

The bank said that the process supports the ambitions of the India–UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which aims to deepen business relationships between the two countries and double bilateral trade to US$120 billion by 2030.

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