Prime Bank initiates first digital trade transactions under BB

Prime Bank PLC has initiated two digital trade transactions under a Bangladesh Bank pilot programme, describing them as the first electronic letter-of-credit and documentary collection processes of their kind in Bangladesh.

The programme allows trade documents to be exchanged electronically through approved international trade corridors, reducing reliance on paper-based documentation, according to a press release.

The first transaction was initiated under the internationally recognised rules for the electronic presentation of documents under letters of credit, known as eUCP Version 2.1.

Prime Bank also initiated a digital documentary collection transaction under the rules for electronic presentation under documentary collections, known as eURC.

The bank said it was the first in Bangladesh to initiate both digital trade processes under the central bank’s pilot programme.
To mark the transactions, Prime Bank recently organised a discussion at Prime Tower in Nikunja, Dhaka.
Syed Sazzad Haider Chowdhury, deputy managing director and chief information officer of Prime Bank PLC, and Sajjad Hossain, executive vice-president and head of Trade Services Division, addressed the session.
Md Tanveer Bin Hasan, head of Trade Digitalization and Innovation, and Tamim Anam, head of LC Processing, shared their experience of structuring the transactions.
They also discussed how electronic documentation could make international trade faster, safer and more efficient.
Prime Bank said the transactions reflected its efforts to modernise international trade services, improve customer service and support the development of a more efficient, paperless trade ecosystem in Bangladesh.