Contour Gets Lifeline Through Acquisition by Singaporean Fintech Xalts
by Fintech News Singapore February 20, 2024Xalts, a Singaporean fintech firm supported by Accel and Citi Ventures, has acquired blockchain- based digital trade finance platform Contour Network previously owned by a consortium of leading global banks.
Carl Wegner, the former CEO of Contour, is expected to join Xalts in a senior leadership role.
This acquisition aims to further digitise trade and supply chain finance, building on Contour’s established base of more than 22 banks and over 100 global businesses, including Tata Group and Rio Tinto.
Contour was launched in 2017 through a collaborative effort by major banks such as HSBC, Standard Chartered, and BNP with the aim of digitising trade finance.
Global Trade Review had previously reported that Contour was to shut down its operations at the end of November last year due to issues raising funds from its bank consortium.
Xalts, recognised for enabling financial institutions and businesses to create and manage digital finance applications, seeks to enhance communication and transactions between network participants by integrating Contour’s standardised workflows.
Despite the global trade volume exceeding US$30 trillion in 2023, the digitisation level of these transactions remains below 1%.
The complexity and regulatory diversity of cross-border trade often lead to extensive paperwork, with a single transaction potentially involving up to 50 documents and 30 different stakeholders.
Xalts’ initial focus is to introduce embedded solutions that will allow banks, logistics, and technology companies to offer comprehensive services through a unified platform.
Founded in 2022 by former senior executives at HSBC and Meta, Ashutosh Goel and Supreet Kaur, Xalts operates with a global team and serves a diverse client base, including major financial institutions and tech companies.
Ashutosh Goel
Ashutosh Goel, CEO of Xalts said,
“We want to create a Plaid for Trade. Our vision is to expand the scope of Contour’s network which is trusted by banks and corporates, and build it into a rail that enables businesses to access digital solutions for trade and supply chain finance offered by banks, fintechs and technology partners. Combining our platform with Contour’s Network will allow participants to develop and deploy customised solutions quickly”.
Carl Wegner
Carl Wegner said,
“I am really proud of what Contour has been able to accomplish in such a short time. The vision that Xalts has for Contour’s future turbocharges its strengths and addresses key client needs.”
Featured image credit: Edited from Freepik
