All documents are digitised and the process is digitalised end-to-end. NTP enables SMEs to share information quickly and securely with multiple parties connected within the platform. It also enables SMEs toapply for trade financing with multiple banks through a single application portal. Enhanced Access to Global Opportunities – Business sans Borders It’s not just cross-border trade that SMEs have to contend with. They have to look abroad for business opportunities, for suppliers and customers. 4 / 10  BIS central bankers' speeches  They have to manage procurement, logistics, and supply chains, also across borders. To address these pain points, MAS and the Infocomm Media Development Authority have together developed Business Sans Borders, or BSB for short. BSB is designed to connect different platforms globally to help SMEs seamlessly access a much larger ecosystem of buyers and sellers. It uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to introduce to SMEs essential financing and business solutions from service providers across the BSB network. For example, a Singaporean SME seller of kueh lapis, a type of traditional cake, was able to use the pilot BSB platform to connect and trade seamlessly with SME buyers on platforms in India and the Philippines. BSB also intuitively matched the seller with a local FinTech firm which provided preshipment financing support for the trade. I am happy to announce that BSB has been operationalised by a private entity Proxtera and is starting its live beta during this Singapore FinTech Festival.
The Covid-19 pandemic and economic crisis has, in a way, helped to focus our minds on these two issues. There is a growing consciousness across the world that if we do not act now and act decisively, we will put our future at grave risk. This crisis presents us an opportunity to create a more inclusive society and a more sustainable planet. Finance, Technology, and FinTech can be powerful enablers in this endeavour. Everything we do in Finance, Technology, and FinTech must have a larger purpose. What greater purpose can there be than making our societies more inclusive and our planet more sustainable? 10 / 10  BIS central bankers' speeches