Digital trade finance has been top of mind for years, but most will agree that 2024 has seen a significant shift in mindset towards adoption. 

While the pandemic underscored the need for digital solutions, the trade finance sector has remained fragmented, burdened by paper-heavy processes, and hesitant to fully embrace change. However, 2024 saw substantial progress, with several key developments accelerating the widespread adoption of trade finance software.

A mindset shift

Many financial institutions and corporates are now understanding the value of digital trade finance, having previously regarded it as expensive, resource-intensive, and an unnecessary supplementary tool rather than a strategic imperative. 

Attitudes have softened, driven by clear business cases and competitive pressures, with resistance and uncertainty reserved for those held back by inertia and short-term perspective. As companies turn increasingly to digital solutions, it is becoming easier to cite return on investment (ROI), fast implementation, and ecosystem integration among digitalisation’s benefits. Companies leveraging digital solutions for document exchange and verification report significant reductions in processing times, transforming trade finance transaction completion from days and weeks into minutes and hours.

Automation of repetitive tasks like bank guarantee text checking using artificial intelligence (AI) and improved fraud detection have contributed to cost savings, making digital tools a more attractive proposition. Blockchain technology, once met with scepticism, has matured into a reliable tool for creating tamper-proof digital ledgers and fostering trust across global supply chains. 

Policymakers, particularly in regions like the EU and APAC, have continued to push for greater standardisation, transparency and digitisation in trade finance. With initiatives like the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records (MLETR), the Electronic Trade Documents Act (ETDA), and bodies like the ICC’s London-based Centre for Digital Trade and Innovation (C4DTI) playing a pivotal role in pushing alignment between regulatory incentives and digital transformation, the regulatory landscape has also now started to promote adoption.  

In terms of the vendor landscape, there has been a marked shift towards collaboration amongst the existing active handful of competitive platform providers. Surecomp’s RIVO™ solution is one such leading facilitator of fintech interoperability and has significantly expanded its network over the last year. 

Enabling banks and corporates to execute trade finance transactions faster and more efficiently and with greater data insights, buyers and suppliers are seeing huge value in efficiency gains, transaction costs and risk mitigation. A pattern has emerged across the trade finance ecosystem, with partnerships like the one between Swift and the ICC collaborating on a new application programming interface (API) standard for guarantees – a pilot that Surecomp participated in alongside customers BNP Paribas and Dutch logistics company Vanderlande – delivering tangible progress and proving that digitisation is accelerating. 

“This is the beginning of a new and very promising journey in digitalising bank guarantees,” commented Marie-Laurence Faure, Head of Digital Trade Channels at BNP Paribas. “It is a significant industry milestone, and we invite all other trade finance stakeholders to join this initiative to benefit the entire ecosystem.”

“Taking a collaborative and standardised approach with our trade finance partners is proving hugely valuable in helping us gain better control and visibility of our guarantees and expedite trade to enable more robust future growth,” said Eddy Veenstra, Customer Finance Director at Vanderlande. 

Despite these advancements, challenges do persist, with the journey towards fully digitised trade finance far from complete. Many banks still struggle with ageing IT systems that are ill-equipped to integrate with modern trade finance platforms. The cost and complexity of overhauling these systems remain a significant barrier; fragmented regional disparities and the absence of universally recognised legal and operational frameworks are still hampering cross-border adoption; and financial inclusion remains an issue. While large corporates have made great strides in adopting trade finance software, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) often remain excluded due to cost and resource constraints. Bridging this gap with affordable SaaS solutions will be critical to reducing this adoption barrier and driving financial inclusion. 

Riding the wave in 2025

Looking ahead several trends are poised to define the digital trade finance landscape next year. AI will continue to revolutionise trade finance operations, offering more sophisticated tools for risk assessment, fraud detection, and process automation. Predictive analytics will enable banks and corporates to anticipate market shifts and optimise their trade finance strategies in real time. AI will also play a critical role in enhancing inclusivity, as it reduces the thresholds to the sophistication of the trade finance instruments.

Enno-Burghard Weitzel, Surecomp’s Chief Solutions Officer, highlighted how embedding AI into digital trade finance will be “instrumental” in empowering customers, as they “enable banks to automate a repetitive, time-consuming verification task which was previously causing massive delays in guarantee issuance.” 

The tokenisation of assets, including letters of credit and invoices, will become more mainstream, unlocking new avenues for liquidity in trade finance. Moreover, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are expected to play an increasingly significant role in cross-border trade, facilitating faster and more secure transactions.

Regulators worldwide are likely to adopt more comprehensive frameworks to support the digitisation of trade finance. Initiatives like the MLETR will gain traction in additional countries, creating a more consistent legal environment for digital trade documents. In parallel, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations will gain prominence with ESG metrics being embedded into trade finance processes to ensure compliance with sustainability goals.

As digital ecosystems grow, cybersecurity will become paramount. In 2024, we saw some high-profile breaches highlighting the vulnerabilities inherent in interconnected networks, reinforcing the need for robust cybersecurity protocols. In 2025, we expect to see increased investment in technologies to protect trade finance networks from evolving threats.

Overall, the democratisation of trade finance will be a central theme in 2025. Governments, development banks, and fintechs will collaborate to create affordable, scalable digital solutions tailored to the needs of SMEs. Enhanced digital identities and simplified onboarding processes will further lower barriers to entry.
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The evolution of digital trade finance in 2024 underscores a profound shift in the industry’s mindset. Digitalisation has moved from a ‘nice-to-have’ to a ‘must-have’ feature. The momentum generated over the past year will undoubtedly propel the sector towards even greater transformation in 2025. Collaboration, innovation, and inclusion will be the cornerstones of digital trade finance in 2025. As technology, regulation, and market demand converge, global trade is poised to become digitalised by default, reshaping how businesses transact and unlocking new opportunities for growth.

In 2025, the question will no longer be whether to digitise but how quickly and effectively organisations can adapt to this rapidly changing landscape. The tide is turning, and the winners will be those who ride the wave and embrace the value of digital trade finance with agility and vision.