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Clear2Pay enables Bank of East Asia’s (Hong Kong) Electronic Commercial Draft System (ECDS)

Bank of East Asia implements Chinese Central Bank’s nationwide ECDS system

Brussels/Hong Kong, 14 September 2009 – Clear2Pay, the international technology provider of next generation payment solutions for financial institutions announces at the opening day of Sibos 2009 that it is supplying technology to Bank of East Asia (BEA) in China to launch its connectivity to the Chinese Central Bank’s nationwide Electronic Commercial Draft System.

Companies within China work with a bank-guaranteed instrument, known as a Commercial Draft, akin to the commonly known ‘letter of credit’. In a push to unify the format of commercial drafts throughout the country in an electronic format and thus to create greater transparency, the Peoples Bank of China initiated the Electronic Commercial Draft System (ECDS) to which, over time, all banks operating within China must be connected.

Bank of East Asia, with over 70 branches and commercial offices in mainland China, will connect its corporate customers to the ECDS network, offering instant insight in ongoing trade transactions, in addition to cash and other payments based transactions.

The new Clear2Pay supplied system covers all functional requirements stipulated by the Central Bank such as buy-in, sell-out, buy-back, issuance, remittance and discounting of commercial drafts.

The spokesman for the Bank of East Asia says: “This solution will enhance the products and services that we provide for our corporate customers. Implementing the solution will also help us to promote our image and prestige in Chinese banking industry and to gain a solid customer base by reaping the strong market share of ECDS”.

Warren Gardiner, General Manager Asia Pacific for Clear2Pay adds: “We are delighted to work side by side with an innovative bank such as Bank of East Asia. On more than one occasion they have proven to be able to implement in launch style environments and this project will be of major importance to its corporate customer base. Creating transparency and efficiency in a country with such huge volumes makes absolute sense and we are very pleased to work with Bank of East Asia on this implementation.”

 

About Bank of East Asia

Incorporated in Hong Kong in 1918, The Bank of East Asia ("BEA") is dedicated to providing comprehensive retail and commercial banking services to its customers in Hong Kong, Greater China, and overseas. BEA is the largest independent local bank in Hong Kong, with total consolidated assets of HK$415.3 billion US$53.58 billion) as at 31st December, 2008. The Bank is listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong and is one of the constituent stocks of the Hang Seng Index. BEA operates one of the largest banking networks in Hong Kong, with over 130 branches and SupremeGold Centres around town. BEA also operates more than 70 outlets in Mainland China, one of the largest networks of any foreign bank. The Bank is widely regarded as a pioneer in the mainland market over the years.

BEA also operates outlets in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the British Virgin Islands, and Southeast Asia. Worldwide, including Hong Kong and China, BEA has an international network of more than 240 outlets and employs over 10,000 people. In addition to its own branches in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York, the Bank serves its North American customers through its New York City-based subsidiary, The Bank of East Asia (U.S.A.) N.A., and The Bank of East Asia (Canada).

More information is available on www.hkbea.com.

 

About Clear2Pay - booth 1-D18

Clear2Pay is an innovative financial technology company focused on delivering globally applicable solutions for secure, timely electronic payments. Headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, the company facilitates banks and financial organisations in their provision of payments services. Clear2Pay's technology helps to reduce transactions processing costs, and to deliver new, compelling payment services in a competitive way. Clear2Pay's payment solutions offer organisations easy, branded ways for their customers to pay online: from complex trade-supporting business-to-business environments, through e-commerce applications, to retail payments and remittance services. Functions embrace payments origination, reporting, linkage with backoffice processing systems, clearing, netting and settlement. Clients include global and major regional financial institutions such as ING, Banco Santander, Crédit Agricole, VISA, MasterCard, ABN AMRO, Nordea, Abbey National, Fortis Bank, ANZ and Commonwealth Bank. Clear2Pay operates out of Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, United Kingdom, United States, Australia, China, Malaysia and Singapore and currently employs over 450 staff.

More information is available on www.clear2pay.com

 

For more information:

Clear2Pay NV/SA
Booth 1-D18, Hong Kong
Conny Dorrestijn - VP Marketing and Communications
E:
T: +31 651 067201

Contact details Clear2Pay China
Chan Mun Kiat – General Manager
E:
T: +86 755-26510777
F: +86 755-26030700

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