FinTech創新：進出口貿易流程再造

The Innovation of FinTech: Import and Export Process Re-engineering

湛址傑(Chih-Chieh Chan)

指導教授 ： 游張松

國立臺灣大學/管理學院/商學研究所/碩士(2018年)

https://doi.org/10.6342/NTU201800541

摘要

國際貿易最大風險就是交易對手風險，買方擔心先付款後賣方不出貨，賣方擔心先出貨後買方不付款，為了解決交易僵局，銀行發展出信用狀業務（Letter of Credit--L/C），固然某種程度解決貿易僵局，但也產生許多新問題。諸如：信用狀造假、商檢證明造假、保單造假、通關文件造假、提單造假、開狀銀行破產與虛設等，而本研究認為信用狀制度設計最大一個問題是嚴格相符原則。實務上常因出口商提示單證間具不符點就遭銀行拒付，然而該瑕疵可能甚為微小；也可能出現出口商赴運劣貨、假貨，卻以照付保函取得清潔提單進而押匯取款。單證相符原則的問題是：銀行只處理『單據』而不處理『貨物』，只處理『信用狀』而不處理『買賣契約』。由於信用狀等單據皆以紙本文件作業，因此尚有交易時間冗長、文件數度轉手的丟失風險以及人工審單的不效率與疏失等問題。本研究發展出國際貿易中的「第三方支付平台」，進出口商可直接透過貿易平台建立「平台合約」。國際貿易的第三方支付與電子商務的第三方支付最大差別在於，國際貿易涉及金額較大及物流交期較長，因此系統設計需更安全與嚴密。本研究「平台合約」中，關於系統後台設計，採區塊鏈技術，運用雜湊函數使每一交易步驟自然防竄改，而個別作業流程以先前作業流程為必要條件，因此自然產生鏈結。每個獨立文件的檢查碼加上鏈結後的檢查碼，更具「不易竄改」的可靠特性。雖借用區塊鏈密碼學技術進行系統設計，然而本研究發展的「貿易平台」並不打算如「比特幣」一般去中心化。蓋因本研究認為，去中心化「貿易平台」技術上並非不可行，然而實際上不具備商業價值。假設此平台採「去中心」設計，必須面臨三個最大問題，其一為維護者報酬，亦即需給礦工誘因；其二為政府管制態勢，金融業為高度管制產業，而台灣金融法規又較為嚴苛，去中心化無法做到反洗錢(AML)與認識客戶（KYC）的法遵需求；其三，去中心代表傳統中心化機構利益遭壓縮，將面臨既得利益者阻撓。本研究「平台合約」採第三方支付概念，進口商一開始先預付貨款，完全取消傳統信用狀，並將提單做簡化設計，藉此消滅單據嚴格相符所衍生出的問題。各個交易節點將資料直接上傳，減少信用狀造假、商檢證明造假、保單造假、通關文件造假、提單造假等問題，而「平台合約」係以電子契約作業取代傳統紙本文書作業，解決傳統信用狀紙本交易時間冗長、文件丟失與人力審單疏失的風險。最後透過「貿易平台」，交易雙方皆可隨時上網讀取交易進度，而物流場域上使用物聯網及區塊鏈技術，可達成貨物實時追蹤的願景，此為傳統紙本信用狀作業無法達成之目標。

關鍵字

金融科技 ； 第三方支付 ； 國際貿易 ； 信用狀 ； 交易對手風險 ； 嚴格相符原則 ； 平台 ； 區塊鏈 ； 物聯網 ； 價值創造循環 ； 循環式創新模型

並列摘要

International trade exposes sellers and buyers to high levels of counterparty risk, where sellers may fail to deliver goods and/or buyers may fail to pay for delivery. Banks therefore invented letters of credit (LoC) to reduce risk, but at the same time created new problems. For instance, malicious actors can commit fraud by producing fraudulent LoC, commodity inspection certificates, import/export declarations, commercial invoices, and freight documents, or even by manufacturing letters of credit from an insolvent bank. LoC weaknesses arise from the strict compliance standards that govern letter design. Banks often decline payment to exporters if the presented documents contain any discrepancies, even if they are trivial. Also, there are cases where an exporter sent inferior or counterfeit goods, but because the exporter’s documentation could still show proof of delivery, the bank still sent payment. Strict compliance fails because it focuses only on the documentation and the terms of the LoC, rather than the quality of the goods and the spirit of the agreement. Furthermore, since LoC often exist only in paper form, there are attendant inefficiencies in production and verification, and chances of human error or that the LoC may be lost. This research therefore explores the feasibility of a third- party payment platform for trade finance, where exporters and importers could utilize “platform contracts” to facilitate settlement. Though third-party payment systems already exist for e-commerce, trade finance usually involves significantly larger dollar amounts and longer delivery dates, so the design has to be more secure and tightly controlled. In particular, this research examines smart contract platforms and back-end systems based on blockchain technology. Block creation could codify agreement terms and conditions, and individual blocks may be identified by unique hashes (check codes for verifications). Blocks connected together in a chain ensure the immutability of the stored data, and protect against tampering. However, this research maintains that decentralization, as in the Bitcoin blockchain protocol, is undesirable and introduces other problems. First, rewards accrue mainly to the miners, who confirm transactions and create blocks. Second, decentralization does not account for government policies, which in Taiwan are particularly strict. Third, decentralized networks present a direct threat to banks, who are therefore likely to oppose the system entirely, thus depriving all participants of new methods that improve their operations and lower costs and risks. The expected benefits of the “platform contract” solution are as follows. First, because importers would prepay to an escrow account, LoC would not need to be obtained. Bills of lading would become significantly simplified, since every point in the transaction would be recorded to the blockchain, making it more difficult for malicious actors to manufacture fraudulent documentation. “Platform contracts” would be paperless and automated as much as possible, thus reducing risk of loss and human error. Because all data would be stored in a public ledger, contract terms and process statuses could be audited at any time. Finally, digitization could better enable logistics operations powered by IoT, and thus enable the real-time tracking of goods.

並列關鍵字

Fintech ； Third Party Payment ； International Trade ； Letter of Credit ； Counterparty Risk ； Strict Compliance Standard ； Platform ； Blockchain ； IOT ； Value Creation Cycle ； VPS Model(Vision, Positioning, Scenario)

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