Standard Chartered Bangladesh has completed Bangladesh’s first automated over-the-weekend loan disbursement under its distributor finance program.
The first client to receive the funds from a distributor financing loan on a weekend was Nestle Bangladesh, reads a press release.
It has been a long-standing demand from clients to arrange for the disbursement of loans during the weekends. Distributors need goods delivered during the weekend, but as manufacturers do not deliver the goods until they receive the funds, the clients had to draw the loans on Thursday, the last day before the weekend.
Now, through the disbursement of over-the-weekend automated loans, distributors will be able to draw down the loan as and when required and will be able to save interest expenses.
The bank was the first in the country to launch a fully automated, online distributor financing program, called Flexiloan in 2018. The bank has now introduced enhanced capabilities enabling drawdown of these loans at the weekends as well.
This enhancement will empower distributors, which are usually small and medium enterprises, by giving them access to finance seven days a week.
Head of Transaction Banking of Standard Chartered Bangladesh Luthful Arefin Khan said: “We started our distributor financing program with the goal to support the many small and medium enterprises (SME) who are distributors for our corporate clients. Through this program, the distributors not only benefit from the collateral-free structure and competitive pricing but also learn financial discipline and proper book-keeping.”
“We understand that these loans are very time-critical, which is why we have made the disbursement fully automated and fully online. I would like to thank Nestle Bangladesh for inspiring us to make this enhancement. I congratulate them on becoming the first client to draw down these loans on a weekend,” he added.
Managing Director of Nestle Bangladesh Deepal Abeywickrema said: “Nestle Bangladesh has been the pioneer in customer financing in Bangladesh with Standard Chartered Bank (SCB). I am excited to see the rollout of another ‘industry first’ innovative solution, focused on ‘customer centricity,’ together by Nestle Bangladesh and Standard Chartered Bank.”
“The new solution will help us enhance the freshness and greatly improve the service level of our customers in bringing high-quality and world-class products to our consumers. I am sure this will be another great tool that other SMEs can equally benefit from. I thank SCB for being at the forefront of new advancements in banking solutions with Nestle Bangladesh Limited.” he added.
Standard Chartered is the only multinational universal bank in Bangladesh, with over 117 years of uninterrupted presence in the nation. The bank has been a committed partner in the progress of Bangladesh, facilitating major investments in power, energy, transportation, and urban development.
The bank accounted for a major share of all export and import financing, respectively, last year, as well as power generation financing and SME lending by foreign banks.
At the same time, the bank commands a leading position in the retail finance space, with a strong share of card spending, consistently growing internet banking users, and the launch of several innovative products.
Over the year, the bank continued its pioneering streak with a number of firsts for the country, including the first green bond, the first green zero-coupon bond, the first carbon neutral credit card, the first faith-based banking solution that supports customer philanthropy, and the first sustainable trade finance transaction.
