ABN Amro Unveils Trade-Finance Portal

ABN Amro Bank on Wednesday kicked off a new version of its MaxTrad trade finance portal, used by importers and exporters for managing shipping and payment information. The new version features modules for supply-chain financing and purchase-order management that help suppliers get paid faster and reduce paperwork associated with trade finance. The product has also been more tightly integrated with enterprise-resource-planning systems, the bank says.

Banks are extending their treasury-services businesses, which provide payment services to businesses, deeper into supply-chain management, including the processing of invoices and purchase orders, writes Celent Communications analyst Alenka Grealish in a report on banking trends. She projects that U.S. banks will spend $38.5 billion this year on IT, a 4.2% increase from last year.