The ADGM Digital Lab facilitates adoption of electronic transferrable records

Interest around electronic transferrable records continues to grow and various jurisdictions around the world are working on legislative changes. During its recent Summit, the G7 reinforced the importance of electronic transferable records to enable businesses to generate efficiencies and economic savings to support the global economic recovery.

Following the recent adoption of UN/CEFACT MLETR by Abu Dhabi Global Market, both ITFA and ADGM have put in place a first movers group. Goal is to extend the benefits of the ITFA Fintech initiatives to the institutions making use of ADGM’s Electronic Transactions Regulations 2021.

Juma Al Hameli, Chief Strategy & Business Development Officer, ADGM said: “ADGM’s adoption of the Electronic Transactions Regulations in February of this year has opened up an entirely new facet of organisations to fully digitise their transactions, thereby eliminating the need for paper documents and wet signatures and ensuring seamless delivery of the documentation process. Underpinned by digital-first offerings, such as our fully digital courtroom, regulatory sandbox, and registration platform, ADGM offers financial institutions, corporates, and technology firms the opportunity to substantially grow their businesses, reduce costs and operational risks, and serve as the basis for their expansion across the MENA region and beyond. We highly commend the ITFA’s efforts to develop digital trade finance and are pleased to welcome its members to the ADGM Digital Lab where these solutions will be tested and operationalised.”

In partnership with ITFA and the ITFA Middle East committee, an initial set of ITFA technology and advisory firms have accepted ADGM’s invitation to join the ADGM Digital Lab: Enigio, Traydstream, FQX, Cleareye.ai, Casterman Advisory and XinFin Network/TradeFinex. Financial institutions have done so as well such as Emirates NBD and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank.

Gunnar Collin, Head of Sales and Marketing, Enigio explains: “ADGM is the perfect place for financial institutions to take advantage of advanced regulation. We are delighted to work alongside local financial institutions and their corporate clients to extend the benefits of electronic negotiable instruments as per ITFA’s dDOC specifications.”
 
Asif Ali Managing Director Head of Product and Partnerships, Traydstream adds: “Traydstream’s automated document checking technology is ready to embrace e-originals as per ITFA’s dDOC specifications. We recognise the need to digitise original trade documents which will further accelerate document handling by financial institutions.”
 
Mariya George, Co-founder and President, Cleareye.ai says: “With ADGM enacting on ETR in February 2021, along with ITFA’s DNI Initiative, there is a clear pathway to digital trade transformation. Cleareye.ai is excited to help accelerate this transformation while focusing on reducing risks associated with Sanctions and TBML.”
 
Atul Khekade, Co-founder, XinFin Network adds: “We joined both ITFA and ADGM as the most active communities of tech-driven innovators. Regulation and technologies are being increasingly aligned and this is benefiting everyone. XinFin brings new sources of liquidity into trade finance, and this applies also to digital negotiable instruments such as those based on ITFA’s dDOC specifications.”
 
Frank Wendt, Co-Founder & Chairman, FQX explains: “We are excited that ADGM embraced and enacted UN/CEFACT MLETR as the future basis of financing trade and the real economy. FQX eNotes (aka electronic promissory notes) comply with the ADGM Electronic Transactions Regulations today, and we are therefore looking forward to working with the FSRA and ADGM to offer a scalable, secure and compliant infrastructure in the immediate future to enable faster growth.”
 
André Casterman, Chair Fintech Committee, ITFA concludes: “Jurisdictions enacting electronic negotiable instruments are creating new opportunities for financial institutions to serve their corporate and SME clients. Today’s first movers are tomorrow’s role models, and those are the ones which get our attention and support.”
 
In case of interest to join the ITFA Fintech initiatives and/or the ADGM Digital Lab, please reach out to ITFA Secretariat via email to info@itfa.org. In the meantime, we invite you to consult the list of entities registered to the ADGM Digital Lab.