All tasks related to payment, transfers, confirmation, netting, accounting, credit collection and reconciliation are managed through the PortPayables process. PortPayables provides access to 135 currencies and affords timely payments. Once a payment is approved in the DA-Desk System, PortPayables performs 55+ automated checks, including regulatory sanctions compliance checks. Provided all automated checks are passed, the payment flows through a straight-through payment process, made possible due to our host-to-host integration with Citibank.

Moreover, DA-Desk has a good knowledge of local holidays in different jurisdictions which, of course, can impact on timely payments. In fact, DA-Desk has collaborated with BIMCO to provide input for its Holiday Calendar. The Holiday Calendar covers general holidays in over 150 countries plus local holidays in more than 680 global ports and helps shipping companies plan their voyages.

The Group chooses to comply with the highest compliance standards globally. The Group processes are audited annually by Deloitte and LRQA to global ISO standards for Quality Management Systems (ISO9001) and Information Security Standards (ISO27001) and the Group's PortPayables service offering is SOX-compliant and audited against the ISAE 3402 Type II standards. With the introduction of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and with a view to further strengthening the Group's adherence to international regulations, the Group appointed an external Data Protection Officer who served as the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and Head of Cyber Security Operations and Investigations for Transport for London (TfL). The Group also has a very proactive internal training and awareness programme that runs periodically to ensure that every single member of staff is continuously assessed to help ensure compliance with applicable legal and regulatory requirements. Moreover, as part of our commitment to transparency, effective governance and compliance, we have joined organisations that share our values including the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN), becoming TRACE certified through a comprehensive due diligence review, analysis and approval process and we are an associate member of BIMCO and INTERTANKO.

Using the combined payment volume of our customer base, we negotiated with our banking service provider for a package that allows our customers to pay in multiple currencies with highly competitive FX rates and zero-to-minimal service charges. All payments are traceable, trackable and benchmarkable against Reuters (an independent source). When a payment is made in local currency, our banking partner applies the customer's pre-agreed spread on top of Reuters live market rate, which results in the USD amount which will be charged to the account.

At the end of the month, we benchmark all transactions processed against the prevailing agreed rates to ensure there are no discrepancies with the cost each customer should have incurred.