The Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) and WaveBL have announced a new partnership today, which is set to provide fresh opportunities for the global maritime industry to enhance operational efficiency, improve security, and alleviate the burden of regulatory compliance through the digitalisation of electronic Bills of Lading (eBLs) and associated trade documents.
WaveBL, a leading blockchain platform specialising in the digitalisation of trade documents, is expanding its international network to support the swift, effective, and economical distribution of eBLs across the globe.
The platform integrates the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) and its digital version, the verifiable LEI (vLEI), aiming to secure accurate and verified digital identity data for shippers, consignees, and other legal entities involved in global trade.
The initiative encourages companies to either utilise data from their existing LEI records or to acquire new LEIs. This effort enhances the reliability and accuracy of the data within WaveBL’s global network directory, thereby increasing transparency in the shipping sector and reinforcing trust among all stakeholders, including regulatory bodies.
An LEI is a distinct 20-character code, standardised by ISO, assigned to legal entities. Each LEI is connected to a verified identity record in the Global LEI Index, an openly accessible and globally recognised database, allowing the public verification of an organisation’s legitimacy. Currently, over 2.6 million LEIs have been issued worldwide.
The vLEI serves as a digital counterpart to the traditional LEI, facilitating the automatic recognition of an entity’s LEI in digital transactions.
WaveBL CEO Noam Rosenfeld said, “The integration of the LEIs into our platform represents a monumental step towards achieving a seamless digital trade environment. By ensuring the accuracy of digital identities, we are enhancing trust and transparency within our network and setting the stage for global interoperability. However, enabling automatic verification of digital credentials is a prerequisite in this regard. Currently, WaveBL handles verification processes on a platform level. As WaveBL is in search of a globally accepted standard, we have found that, the introduction of vLEIs could radically streamline this process by providing a trusted automated and universally accepted solution for verifying companies’ digital identities worldwide.”
Alexandre Kech, CEO of GLEIF, said, “By introducing LEIs and vLEIs into its platform, WaveBL is expected to enhanced the speed, accuracy, and reliability of its digital identity verification, fostering greater interoperability and security in global trade. By integrating the LEI into digital supply chain systems, enterprises are not only increasing efficiency and reducing the costs of paperwork but also equipping their industry with the tools needed to fight fraud and other forms of financial crime. I applaud WaveBL’s efforts and am excited to see our collaboration continue as the vLEI ecosystem continues to gather momentum around the world.”
