SMEs get cash boost
STANDARD Chartered Bank has lowered transaction costs on its trade financing services for small-and-medium enterprise (SMEs) customers in a bid to facilitate international trade.
By Sylvia Juuko
STANDARD Chartered Bank has lowered transaction costs on its trade financing services for small-and-medium enterprise (SMEs) customers in a bid to facilitate international trade.
Herman Kasekende, the head of consumer banking, said under the initiative dubbed “SME Trade Campaign,†importers and exporters will enjoy cost cuts and benefits on international trade accounts, gateway accounts and over the counter foreign exchange services.
With an international trade account, he said, customers will benefit from free telegraphic transfers to any StanChart bank, flat rates on telegraphic transfers to other banks, preferential pricing on foreign exchange, letters of credit, guarantees and bid bonds.
Kasekende said a gateway account can be opened in Dubai for a customer in Uganda to minimise risks associated with travelling with cash.
The offer comes at a time when trade financing, which supports the bulk of world trade, is drying up due the global economic downturn.
Kasekende said most of the facilities that used to be given to importers like the 30-day credit had diminished.
STANDARD Chartered Bank has lowered transaction costs on its trade financing services for small-and-medium enterprise (SMEs) customers in a bid to facilitate international trade.
Herman Kasekende, the head of consumer banking, said under the initiative dubbed “SME Trade Campaign,†importers and exporters will enjoy cost cuts and benefits on international trade accounts, gateway accounts and over the counter foreign exchange services.
With an international trade account, he said, customers will benefit from free telegraphic transfers to any StanChart bank, flat rates on telegraphic transfers to other banks, preferential pricing on foreign exchange, letters of credit, guarantees and bid bonds.
Kasekende said a gateway account can be opened in Dubai for a customer in Uganda to minimise risks associated with travelling with cash.
The offer comes at a time when trade financing, which supports the bulk of world trade, is drying up due the global economic downturn.
Kasekende said most of the facilities that used to be given to importers like the 30-day credit had diminished.