StanChart begins automated loan disbursement

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 Nestlé Bangladesh Ltd, said the press release.

It has been a long-standing demand from clients to arrange for disbursement of loans during the weekends. Distributors need goods delivery during 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 weekend.

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 in the weekends as well.

Head of Transaction Banking of Standard Chartered Bangladesh Luthful Arefin Khan said, “We started our distributor financing program with the goal to support 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.

Deepal Abeywickrema, Managing Director, Nestlé Bangladesh Limited said “Nestlé Bangladesh Limited 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 Nestlé Bangladesh Limited and Standard Chartered Bank.