Paper Cuts: Rio Tinto Leverages Blockchain for Trade

With the first fully digital, blockchain-secured end-to-end letter of credit transaction between Nanjing Iron & Steel and Rio Tinto complete, TMI asks Rio Tinto’s Michel Alves, Customer Service Manager, Iron Ore and James Liu, Account Manager, Southern China, to share their highlights from the experience. 

Engage in a conversation about cross-border trade and eventually talk will turn to the sheer volume of physical paperwork it involves. The delays and extra costs of this manual approach are arguably among the most frustrating elements of an activity that keeps almost every economy in the world turning.

With the rapid advance of digitisation, being able to cut out physical paperwork has never been more attainable than now. But it’s going to take a few major players to switch to the digital pathway before it becomes the trusted norm; no one will overturn the centuries-old tradition of manual processing overnight.

One deal that finance professionals seeking greater (paper-free) efficiency in their international trade transactions may find of interest is the recent first fully digital, blockchain-secured end-to-end secured letter of credit (eLC) transaction between Nanjing Iron & Steel and mining giant, Rio Tinto.

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