National Australia Bank today announces it has invested in a new trade and supply chain finance processing platform and online banking offering from Misys.
The solution will automate NAB's trade processing across Australia, Asia and New Zealand (through its subsidiary BNZ) to improve service levels and extend new products to clients. This strategic investment in technology enables the bank to provide its customers with better service and grow its Asia Pacific trade finance business.
NAB completed the pan-Asian implementation of Misys TI Plus in Hong Kong, Singapore, China, India and Japan in December 2013 using the software company's "model bank" implementation approach. The model bank blueprint provided a reference architecture for implementation that significantly reduced time to market. The bank has already increased transaction throughput across its Asian business by approximately 15%, resulting in improved customer satisfaction, and more value-added client services.
The new back-end platform has enabled the bank to reduce documentary trade processing times for clients and deliver greater consistency of service across countries and time zones. NAB can now handle significantly increased trade transaction volumes across its Asian branches, providing the backbone for realising new business opportunities and trade service delivery in the region.
TI Plus is used in unison with Misys Trade Portal, the online solution, which NAB is currently implementing for its Australian customers to support their international trade finance programmes.
"To ensure continued success in Asia and to support our domestic clients more effectively we needed greater collaboration, automation and operational consistency across our trade finance business," said Mark Borton, Head, Product Management Asia, Global Transaction Banking at National Australia Bank. "The implementation approach allowed us to get up and running on the platform very quickly across our Asian business and is enabling NAB to have a standard operating model across the region and for the global business. We are constantly looking to improve the way we deliver new products and services to our clients. Misys gives us the flexibility to do this."
NAB made a decision to move towards consolidation of its trade finance business onto a single platform globally back in 2012 and has been working across the region to make this a reality.
As Australia's largest business bank, NAB has seen increasing demand for trade and supply chain finance services to support Australian businesses expanding their trading relationships with buyers and suppliers in developed and emerging Asian economies. According to a 2013 survey of NAB's Small to Medium Enterprises (SME) customers, businesses wish to deal with Chinese importers and exporters the most, in particular those bringing in goods for sale in Australia.
"We are very pleased to see the positive impact our front-to-back trade and supply chain finance platform is having at NAB," comments Chris Curtis, Regional Director - Asia, Misys.
"We continue to be a strategic technology partner with NAB as it focuses on its core expertise in Transaction Banking. This is further proof that our solutions can support both the regional and global requirements of the leading banks in the industry. We look forward to supporting the bank further as it addresses demands for bank assistance in financial supply chain management and working capital optimisation."