HSBC Bank Oman has been voted by customers as the leading Trade Finance bank in Oman in the 2020 Euromoney Trade Finance survey. HSBC was also voted the No.1 Trade Finance bank in the Middle East region – the fourth year in succession that customers have placed the bank in top spot, according to a press release. 

“As the world’s leading trade finance bank, HSBC is ideally placed to connect Omani businesses to trading partners around the globe. We continue to invest in the digitalisation of our products and services to make banking simpler, better and faster for our customers,” said Mohamed Mansour, head of global trade and receivables finance for HSBC Bank Oman. 

In 2019, HSBC Bank Oman became the first bank in Oman to execute a cross-border letter of credit (LC) transaction on a blockchain platform. In an industry first, HSBC also launched a new customer surveillance system that uses big data, advanced analytics and automated ‘contextual monitoring’ to detect and disrupt financial crime in international trade.

“HSBC has pioneered the use of blockchain technology to accelerate the velocity of trade flowing through the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey region – trade which is worth around US$2tn each year. Our use of AI, machine learning, mobile based trade tracker applications and intuitive online trade platforms have drastically improved the efficiency of the business, made trade safer for our customers and society, and have had a positive impact on client experience. Being voted the region’s best trade finance bank is a direct reflection of these investments. So watch this space as we continue to disrupt the way trade finance is done,” added Sunil Veetil, head of global trade and receivables finance for HSBC in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey (MENAT).

HSBC has now completed four cross-border LC blockchain transactions in MENAT, involving buyers and sellers in Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and is planning to rapidly scale the platform in 2020.