MERCANTIL COMMERCEBANK, N.A. GOES LIVE ON TRADECARD TO OFFER OPEN ACCOUNT SERVICES TO CORPORATES
Corporate Clients in the Americas Are Leveraging Open Account Settlement and Pre- and Post-Export Financing Services to Improve Margins and Cash Flow
MIAMI, Aug. 20, 2008 - TradeCard Inc., the leading provider of extended supply chain solutions, announced today that Mercantil Commercebank, one of the largest privately held banks headquartered in South Florida, has gone live on the TradeCard Platform to offer open account trade services to corporate clients in the Americas. Corporate clients at Mercantil Commercebank can settle and finance their open account portfolios, reduce transaction costs, and improve financial and physical supply chain visibility through the TradeCard Platform. Speed and automation through the platform enable longer financing periods, a competitive advantage for Mercantil Commercebank and its corporate clients.
"Connecting all global trading partners in a single data flow that includes financial institutions, buyers and suppliers creates a win-win opportunity," said Boyan Mintchev, Corporate Lending Products Manager at Mercantil Commercebank. "By offering open account services through TradeCard we can better manage trade risks through real time transaction visibility and third party verification. We're able to seamlessly deliver services globally to all parties in our clients' trading communities, which will enhance the bank's already robust trade products and services offering."
The TradeCard Platform enables low processing costs and improved cycle times to benefit Mercantil Commercebank and its clients. Automation through the Platform reduces labor and increases speed by removing paper, fax and email from financial trade services while simultaneously decreasing operational risk in pre-shipment financing, invoice discounting and bank payment guarantee operations. Labor savings plus improved finance offerings will increase the profitability of the bank's trade finance business.
"Financial institutions and their corporate clients are becoming more aware of opportunities that arise from inserting financial services into the supply chain," said Kurt Cavano, CEO of TradeCard, Inc. "Mercantil Commercebank and its customers are taking advantage of this opportunity without the headaches of building a technology infrastructure or adding presence overseas. The TradeCard Platform provides the technology, financial services and local support they need to execute open account transactions and trade financing with overseas suppliers."
Financial services available on the TradeCard Platform help companies of all sizes to better compete by improving margins and cash flow. TradeCard's hosted model and global support team enable rapid deployment in as little as 45 days. TradeCard provides a rapidly deployed value network that connects more than 3,500 buyers, suppliers and service providers. TradeCard helps clients that range from $10 million to over $20 billion in revenue to transform the supply chain into a value chain by eliminating waste and delay from the sourcing process.
About Mercantil Commercebank
Mercantil Commercebank is one of the largest privately held banks in South Florida serving its community for over 25 years. The Bank is a subsidiary of Mercantil Commercebank Holding Corp., which in turn is owned by Mercantil Servicios Financieros, the largest provider of financial services in Venezuela, with more than 80 years of experience. Mercantil Commercebank has assets of $6 billion. The Bank is headquartered in Coral Gables, Florida, and has thirteen Banking Centers in South Florida; one in Manhattan, New York; and one in Houston, Texas. Mercantil Commercebank offers a wide variety of domestic, international, personal, and commercial banking services, including investment, trust, and estate planning through its subsidiaries, Mercantil Commercebank Investment Services, Inc. and Mercantil Commercebank Trust Company, N.A. For more information, please visit http://www.mercantilcb.com
About TradeCard, Inc.
TradeCard, Inc. is the leading provider of on-demand supply chain management solutions. The TradeCard Platform synchronizes financial transactions with physical events in the global supply chain to help customers automate trade transactions from purchase order to payment and chargebacks. Buyers, sellers and their trading partners manage transactions through a web-based platform with online financial services integrated into the workflow. This turnkey transaction management enables customers to improve margins and enhance growth, with extra-organizational supply chain visibility. TradeCard's on-the-ground trade experts throughout the world assure superior supply chain agility.
TradeCard manages global trade for thousands of users in over 40 countries, including Columbia Sportswear, Rite Aid and Wolverine Worldwide. TradeCard Inc. is headquartered in New York City and has offices in San Francisco, Hong Kong, Brussels, Taipei, Seoul, Colombo, and Shenzhen. TradeCard is located online at www.tradecard.com.
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