ICICI Bank launches ‘Trade Emerge’, a platform for Indian exporters, importers

MUMBAI : ICICI Bank has announced the launch of its online platform, ‘Trade Emerge’, to offer comprehensive digital banking and value-added services to exporters and importers across India.

The company said in a statement that the platform will make cross border trade hassle-free, expeditious and convenient, as it offers an array of services in one place, eliminating the need for companies to coordinate with multiple touchpoints.

“Over the years, India has emerged as a key player in the global export-import space with a consistent growth history. During April to October 2021, our overall exports (merchandise and services combined) and imports are estimated to be nearly $780 billion, recording a rapid growth over the same period last year),” said Vishakha Mulye, Executive Director, ICICI Bank.

Platform’s incorporation services will assist companies to set up an export-import business in India to obtain key registrations and licenses such as trade license, Importer Exporter Code (IEC), GST registration and Registration Cum Membership Certificate issued by export promotion organisations or Commodity Boards of India. 

This digital facility is associated with ‘India Filings’, an online business and tax compliance platform. It will also help traders avail certain export benefits under the country’s Foreign Trade Policy.

Users can access updates/notifications/guidelines issued by domestic and international regulatory and trade bodies, customs processes and policies, tariff-related information etc., on the Trade Emerge platform. 

Further, the company claims that traders get access to a global database of nearly 15 million buyers and sellers across 181 countries through the ‘Market Intelligence’ section of the portal. It contains important data points such as transaction history, business performance etc., of the parties, which helps them select customers efficiently. The bank is offering this service in association with ‘The Dollar Business’, a leading global export-import data and analytics platform.

“This initiative aims to increase the efficiency and productivity of exporters and importers decongesting the time-taking physical procedures. The benefit of this platform is available to all exporters and importers, even if they are not customers of ICICI Bank,” added Mulye.

After selecting a potential customer, users can also verify its credibility through business information reports provided by CRIF, a leading credit information company and Dun & Bradstreet, a leading global provider of business data and analytics. While post finalisation of the partner, an exporter or importer can avail logistics support for shipment related needs. They get multiple shipment options at flexible prices on ‘Trade Emerge’ and the option of booking freight space instantly as against the previous time-consuming practice of contacting multiple agencies, the company said. 

The platform also enables the last mile tracking for the users, making the entire process seamless and cost-effective.

In addition, it offers exporters and importers insurance policies to protect their business. This includes insurances like ‘Marine Transit’ insurance to safeguard their shipment, group health insurance to offer health coverage to their employees, ‘Workmen’s Compensation’ insurance and property insurance.