The goal of the broader partnership is to help solve the financing difficulties that many SMEs face in China through the digitalization of trade financing. As a first step, CreditEase, which invested in Tradeshift through a Series D round last year, has integrated and delivered an app on the Tradeshift platform. The app connects to CreditEase’s Fintech solution, which combines an expansive database containing information such as historical transaction and buyer payment data along with the company’s risk control and financial management expertise. The app allows SMEs to easily apply for credit based on the invoice approval and buying power of their cross-border enterprise buyers, and in the process, makes the entire experience convenient, fast, and secure.

“The new CreditEase app on the Tradeshift platform provides a powerful peer-to-peer financing option for hundreds of thousands of China-based exporters," said Mikkel Hippe Brun, co-founder and senior vice president, APAC, Tradeshift. “This a true fintech partnership and will build solutions enabling businesses to take greater control over their working capital health, leading to a stronger and more reliable supply chain in China.”

Through the company’s venture fund, CreditEase New Financial Industry Investment Fund, CreditEase will work with Tradeshift to jointly develop solutions that enhance traditional supply chain finance services. The aim is to improve the success rate and efficiency for suppliers and buyers by providing a unified, innovative, automated and on-demand online financial service.

“Our objective is to optimize the entire supply chain funding process,” commented CreditEase CEO Ning Tang. “The collaboration between CreditEase and Tradeshift will be extended from the electronic invoice to the upstream and downstream supply chain processes, creating a closer trade link for global sourcing and supplier interconnection.”

The partnership is the latest in a string of announcements from the region. In late 2016, Tradeshift announced the launch of two joint ventures in China to connect millions of trading partners, digitalize the transactions between them, and offer accessible financial services to SMEs in the region. With over four years of experience in China, Tradeshift is leading the way in addressing China’s growing market and supply chain, and with the help of partnerships and integrations such as the CreditEase app and joint ventures, the company is on track to process upwards of 100 million transactions per year across supply chains throughout China.