• ESG-integrated trade finance: Is this the missing link to African SME resilience post-AGOA? 
• Why shipping’s digital convergence is treasury’s new edge
• VOXPOP | Future trends in commodity trade finance
• Why CBAM will reshape global carbon pricing

ESG-integrated trade finance: Is this the missing link to African SME resilience post-AGOA? 

Besides their primary use as sustainability measurements, ESG factors function as leading indicators of operational resilience, management quality, and adaptive capacity. In the African SME context, for example, companies with diversified supplier bases can pivot when individual suppliers face more constraints. Read more →

Why shipping’s digital convergence is treasury’s new edge

Disruption has always been a part of global trade, but over the past decade, this has evolved into frequent volatility. Geopolitical realignments, regulatory fragmentation, shifting tariffs and climate shocks have made volatility a permanent state in which to manage.  Read more →

VOXPOP | Future trends in commodity trade finance

At the inaugural TFG Geneva conference, Alexander Peters, Group CFO at Torq Commodities, identified several converging trends that are fundamentally reshaping the sector, each carrying profound implications for how capital flows and risk is managed across global supply chains. Read more →

Why CBAM will reshape global carbon pricing

Will CBAM and the rise of global carbon pricing finally put an end to greenwashing? As carbon emissions start to carry a real financial cost rather than just serving as a marketing tool, we could be finally moving away from empty commitments and towards concrete climate action. Read more →

• Lessons from a quarter-century in trade
• End-to-end digitisation for simpler trade
• PODCAST | The road to CBAM: Carbon reporting in 2026
• UN adopts landmark Convention on Negotiable Cargo Documents
• The five forces that will define compliance and payments integrity in 2026
• VIDEO | The power of humans in detecting trade finance fraud
• ESG-integrated trade finance: Is this the missing link to African SME resilience post-AGOA? 
• Parliament debates bill to double UKEF budget limit

Lessons from a quarter-century in trade

A year in the making, Trade Finance Global (TFG) is proud to bring our final magazine of 2025, as 21st-century trade finance enjoys its silver jubilee. Read more →

End-to-end digitisation for simpler trade

Two leaders in the trade digitisation field – Anastasia McAlpine, Head of Product, Trade and Supply Chain Finance at Finastra and Satyam Agrawal, MD – Global Head of Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS), SME and Analytics at CredAble – met to talk about the trouble with digitisation and what their respective institutions are doing to bridge the gap. Read more →

PODCAST | The road to CBAM: Carbon reporting in 2026

On January 1, 2026, CBAM will move from a reporting framework and become a real financial liability for importers: those who haven’t secured authorised CBAM declarant status will face penalties, higher costs, and operational disruption. Read more →

UN adopts landmark Convention on Negotiable Cargo Documents

The treaty creates a new type of cargo document similar to the maritime bill of lading for goods travelling by road, air, and rail, allowing them to exist in electronic form and change owners while in transit. This is the first time that legally binding digital trade documents, which can be applied at any stage in a supply chain, have been introduced. Read more →

The five forces that will define compliance and payments integrity in 2026

As we move into 2026, these developments will evolve further, becoming the conditions under which financial crime, payments and compliance must now operate. The challenge for institutions is not only to understand what has changed, but what those changes set in motion for the wider financial landscape. And more importantly, what it takes to adapt.  Read more →

VIDEO | The power of humans in detecting trade finance fraud

As businesses evolve, so do bad actors. Financial crime in trade finance, as in many other industries, has gotten more sophisticated and diverse as technology has advanced, leading to more and more complex frauds and increasing attempts to evade sanctions or launder money. Read more →

ESG-integrated trade finance: Is this the missing link to African SME resilience post-AGOA? 

When Trump’s April 2025 tariffs landed, Lesotho faced a 50% levy, the highest of any US trading partner. For textile micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) that had built businesses over two decades around duty-free access to the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), the impact was immediate. Read more →

Parliament debates bill to double UKEF budget limit

The Industry and Exports (Financial Assistance) Bill would raise the statutory limits on the amount of financial support the government can give to industry and exports, effectively increasing UKEF’s budget and capacity to provide export finance. Read more →

• Trafigura-Gupta nickel trial ends in London: Final revelations from closing statements
• The decades-long road to trade digitalisation in Spain and beyond
• VIDEO | Commodity risk in 2026: The new era of optionality
• US SEC charges Triterras founder of fraud, ramifications on blockchain in trade finance
• Over 90% of world trade depends on trade finance but global South remains on the margins, finds UNCTAD report
• 25 years of post-work pints and the commodities that create them

Trafigura-Gupta nickel trial ends in London: Final revelations from closing statements

Trafigura v Gupta, the London High Court trial that has been gripping the global commodities scene for over a month, concluded today as both sides made their closing statements. The case saw the commodities trading house lose nearly $600 million on ‘buyback trades’ involving non-existent nickel. Read more →

The decades-long road to trade digitalisation in Spain and beyond

The tariff measures announced by Trump have prompted global firms, particularly in Europe and Latin America, to rethink the structure of their operations and supply chains well beyond simple cost adjustments. Read more →

VIDEO | Commodity risk in 2026: The new era of optionality

Commodity trading usually runs on very thin margins; traders make only a small profit per tonne and rely on high volumes instead. So even a small tariff, just a few percentage points, can wipe out most of that profit. But the implications of tariffs go beyond simple financial hits. Read more →

US SEC charges Triterras founder of fraud, ramifications on blockchain in trade finance

On 7 November, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Srinivas Koneru, founder of trade finance fintech Triterras Fintech Pte Ltd (“Triterras”), with fraud and misrepresentation. Read more →

Over 90% of world trade depends on trade finance but global South remains on the margins, finds UNCTAD report

The 2025 UN Trade and Development Report turns its attention to trade finance, its inextricable connection to global trade and commodity flows, and where it might be headed in the wake of slowing growth and tightening regulation. Read more →

25 years of post-work pints and the commodities that create them

Today, Britain’s commodity sourcing reflects both tradition and globalisation. According to the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the UK harvested approximately 7 million tonnes of barley in 2023, with 1.8 million tonnes designated for malting; the industry is valued at an estimated £1.35 billion. Read more →

• Whitepaper launch | From lenders to leaders: Banks in flux
• Bank of England eases capital requirements for UK lenders, trade finance providers eye relief
• As the Trafigura-Gupta fraud trial ends, here’s what the High Court testimony reveals
• Risks ga-LORE: Accurate credit ratings in emerging markets
• VIDEO | Trade finance: The cool kid in (asset) class
• Mauritian credit intelligence startup Black Swan wins MEST Africa Challenge 2025
• 2025 UK Budget: Import crackdown and trade deals leave little for UK exporters

Whitepaper launch | From lenders to leaders: Banks in flux

Trade Finance Global (TFG) and the Bankers Association for Finance and Trade (BAFT) launch “From lenders to leaders: Banks in flux,” a whitepaper detailing the unique challenges and opportunities faced by banks in the global trade space in 2025. Read more →

Bank of England eases capital requirements for UK lenders, trade finance providers eye relief

The Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) has reduced its benchmark capital requirement for UK banks to 13% of risk-weighted assets, down from 14%. Read more →

As the Trafigura-Gupta fraud trial ends, here’s what the High Court testimony reveals

Now that all testimony has been heard, a clearer picture has emerged about the events leading up to the discovery of the fraud and about the complex trading relationship between the global commodities giant, its lenders, and Gupta’s companies. Read more →

Risks ga-LORE: Accurate credit ratings in emerging markets

Silvia Andreoletti, Senior Reporter at Trade Finance Global (TFG), spoke to Gabrielle Reid, Head of Advisory at PANGEA-RISK, to find out about how the LORE framework, a new initiative by PANGEA-RISK and Standard Bank, could lead to a more accurate understanding of emerging market risk. Read more →

VIDEO | Trade finance: The cool kid in (asset) class

At the third annual Trade Finance Investor Day (TFID) in London, Trade Finance Global (TFG), spoke to TFD Initiative Chair André Casterman to hear about why trade finance is an attractive industry, to investors and young people alike, and how to make outsiders see this too. Read more →

Mauritian credit intelligence startup Black Swan wins MEST Africa Challenge 2025

Black Swan, a Mauritian fintech on a mission to “Make Africa Bankable,” has won the MEST Africa Challenge (MAC) 2025, securing a $50,000 equity investment and access to commercial solutions with Absa business units across Africa. Read more →

2025 UK Budget: Import crackdown and trade deals leave little for UK exporters

As the world’s fourth largest exporter and regulatory first-mover, the impact of the Budget is likely to go far beyond the UK, affecting supply chains and influencing regulators around the globe. Read more →

• PODCAST | Future of Trade with Standard Chartered E1: Powering resilience
• Australia moves to draft MLETR amendments, bringing it closer to adoption
• UK Export Finance launches guarantee for UK-based critical minerals businesses
• The MEST Africa Challenge 2025: Africa’s fintech future is here, and it’s never looked brighter
• Is the future of specialty insurance ready for agentic AI?
• Trading under pressure: Could sanctions totally redirect commodity flows by 2050?

PODCAST | Future of Trade with Standard Chartered E1: Powering resilience

In the first of Trade Finance Global (TFG) and Standard Chartered’s latest podcast series, Future of Trade, the topic of resilience is discussed. Read more →

Australia moves to draft MLETR amendments, bringing it closer to adoption

Australia announced this month that it would establish a working group to progress the adoption of the Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records (MLETR) and start drafting amendments to enshrine the MLETR into local and national laws. Read more →

UK Export Finance launches guarantee for UK-based critical minerals businesses

UK Export Finance (UKEF), the UK’s government-backed export credit agency, announced yesterday it would offer a new guarantee to support UK businesses supplying critical minerals. This is expected to secure UK supply chains of the materials, critical for the energy transition, in the next quarter-decade and beyond.  Read more →

The MEST Africa Challenge 2025: Africa’s fintech future is here, and it’s never looked brighter

The yearly MEST Africa Challenge (MAC), held by the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) and in collaboration with Absa for the first time this year, showcases the best of this growing innovation. Read more →

Is the future of specialty insurance ready for agentic AI?

As any would-be mountain climber knows, taking risks is much easier when you have a safety net. Amid increasing geopolitical risk and rising economic volatility, credit insurance acts as that safety net, facilitating trade and investment across global commodity markets in emerging and developed economies alike. Read more →

Trading under pressure: Could sanctions totally redirect commodity flows by 2050?

The evolution of sanction enforcement in 2025 thus far has seen the traditionally static policy tool transform into a dynamic force, which is shaping trader behaviours and directing supply chains like never before.  Read more →

• VIDEO | European collaboration amid changing global standards
• Pakistan’s floods show the destructive impact of climate change on trade routes, writes Pakistan’s High Commissioner to the UK
• The price of CBAM by 2050: Who will pay, how much, and when?
• The Africa edition: From local stalls to global markets
• VIDEO | Lessons from 25 years of emerging market commodities risk management
• The involvement of commodity trading in the war in Sudan
• SaaS in SSA: Software collaboration supporting African trade
• PODCAST | The success factor: Future trends in factoring

VIDEO | European collaboration amid changing global standards

The European payments industry is improving by leaps and bounds. Their economy is experiencing seismic changes, regarding shifts in real-time payments, integration of artificial intelligence (AI) software, and regulatory shifts. One crucial driver is the interoperability-driven collaboration between banks. Read more →

Pakistan’s floods show the destructive impact of climate change on trade routes, writes Pakistan’s High Commissioner to the UK

This summer, unprecedented heavy rainfall during the monsoon period caused widespread flooding across Pakistan, taking hundreds of lives across the country and devastating homes and fields. Read more →

The price of CBAM by 2050: Who will pay, how much, and when?

As the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) transitions from reporting obligations to financial enforcement, the question of who bears the cost – and at what magnitude – is reshaping global trade. Read more →

The Africa edition: From local stalls to global markets

The Trade Finance Global (TFG) team have had quite an international presence this year. And at all corners of the world, Africa has been the market on everyone’s lips and watchlists. This magazine, therefore, became an imperative for us. Read more →

VIDEO | Lessons from 25 years of emerging market commodities risk management

As any would-be mountain climber knows, taking risks is much easier when you have a safety net. Amid increasing geopolitical risk and rising economic volatility, credit insurance acts as that safety net, facilitating trade and investment across global commodity markets in emerging and developed economies alike. Read more →

The involvement of commodity trading in the war in Sudan

Few things on this planet are clearly visible from space: the Pyramids of Giza, the Amazon Rainforest, the Himalayan mountain range. Now, pools of blood saturating the ground of Sudan can be added to the list. Read more →

SaaS in SSA: Software collaboration supporting African trade

It’s often easier to ship from Lagos to London than it is from Lagos to Nairobi: a fact which illustrates the nascent stages of intercontinental transport in the continent, but also which illustrates a profound opportunity for trade finance. Read more →

PODCAST | The success factor: Future trends in factoring

At the 2025 Sibos conference in Frankfurt, Germany, Trade Finance Global’s (TFG) Mahika Ravi Shankar spoke with Efcom’s Federico Avellán Borgmeyer, Chief Partner Officer, Vinai Biju, Data Scientist, and Abdelrahman El-Beltagi, Islamic Factoring Expert, at efcom. Read more →

• PODCAST | The success factor: Future trends in factoring
• “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu”: How Western ESG frameworks perpetuate financial colonialism in Africa
• VIDEO | Emerging green: Building trade resilience through inclusion
• US-China trade tensions ease as deal lowers port fees, semiconductor restrictions
• Hedge your bets: Managing commodities risk in sub-Saharan Africa 
• UBS to liquidate invoice finance funds tied to First Brands collapse
• UKEF expands green export finance amid strengthening UK-Brazil ties at COP30

PODCAST | The success factor: Future trends in factoring

At the 2025 Sibos conference in Frankfurt, Germany, Trade Finance Global’s (TFG) Mahika Ravi Shankar spoke with Efcom’s Federico Avellán Borgmeyer, Chief Partner Officer, Vinai Biju, Data Scientist, and Abdelrahman El-Beltagi, Islamic Factoring Expert, at efcom. Read more →

“If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu”: How Western ESG frameworks perpetuate financial colonialism in Africa

Africa continues to lag on critical development metrics, including poverty alleviation and infrastructure development, as Western institutions pursue climate objectives through frameworks that create what we term “ESG colonialism”. Read more → 

VIDEO | Emerging green: Building trade resilience through inclusion

For Samuel Mathew, Global Head – Documentary Trade, Standard Chartered, realities of uncertainty are rewiring how banks support their clients across markets, demanding uniform standards. Read more → 

US-China trade tensions ease as deal lowers port fees, semiconductor restrictions

Global trade tensions seem to be easing this week as China announced on Monday, 10 November, that it would suspend port fees on US ships docking at its ports following a similar announcement by the US. Read more → 

Hedge your bets: Managing commodities risk in sub-Saharan Africa 

A recent IMF report found a significant slowdown of the SSA economy, which grew by 4% in 2024 but by only 3.8% in the first few months of 2025. A promising figure of 4.2% is forecasted for 2026, driven mainly by rising commodity exports. However, especially compared to its resource-rich predecessors, growth is still happening at a rather slow pace. Read more → 

UBS to liquidate invoice finance funds tied to First Brands collapse

The Swiss bank has over $500 million in exposure to the US-based car parts company, which declared bankruptcy in September amid controversial accounting practices that may have obfuscated the true extent of its liabilities. Read more →

UKEF expands green export finance amid strengthening UK-Brazil ties at COP30

UK Export Finance (UKEF) has unveiled a series of initiatives to boost sustainable trade financing as world leaders gather in Belém, Brazil, for the COP30 summit, marking a deepening of UK-Brazil economic cooperation in the clean energy sector. Read more →

• VIDEO | Can digitisation allow for payment interoperability by 2050?
• The real barrier to African trade finance isn’t capital, it’s data
• VIDEO | How emerging markets can emerge further in the global economy
• Banks in turbulence: How solutions providers can help right the ship
• PODCAST | Regional rising star: Latin America’s payments success
• African air transport infrastructure, diversification, youth inclusion get homegrown investment boost
• VIDEO | A match made in trade: Supply chain finance and the payments industry
• Mauritius’ journey towards pan-African growth

VIDEO | Can digitisation allow for payment interoperability by 2050?

At the 2025 Swift-organised Sibos conference in Frankfurt, Germany, tokenisation, digital assets, stablecoins, and artificial intelligence (AI) were top of the industry agenda. Read more → 

The real barrier to African trade finance isn’t capital, it’s data

Africa’s $120 billion trade finance gap isn’t just about capital scarcity, but about information asymmetry. Traditional environmental, social, and governance (ESG) assessments may ask companies whether they have a supply chain policy, but that’s not what trade financiers really need to know. Read more → 

VIDEO | How emerging markets can emerge further in the global economy

2025 has been a year of shock for global supply chains and corporations navigating the impact of US tariffs. Yet, for Europe in particular, the long-term disruptions from tariffs have yet to be reflected in trade flow data, short-term export spikes appear to have levelled off, and China and the US remain key trading partners. Read more → 

Banks in turbulence: How solutions providers can help right the ship

Banks operating today are facing a myriad of challenges, from tariff adaptation to tech adoption. Multinational institutions must further grapple with changing regulations in a number of jurisdictions, on top of evolving industry standards in the payments and risk-management sphere. Read more → 

PODCAST | Regional rising star: Latin America’s payments success

The LatAm economy relies heavily on cash: it’s a physical, historic and therefore dependable store of value. 70% of the LatAm population is either unbanked or underbanked, and with a population of over 6.5 million, the region certainly deserves its time in the (fintech) spotlight. Read more → 

African air transport infrastructure, diversification, youth inclusion get homegrown investment boost

The African Development Bank (AfDB) recently announced a financial agreement with Equatorial Guinea for youth inclusion and employment, and a partnership with the Republic of Congo to expand its support on regional integration infrastructure. Read more → 

VIDEO | A match made in trade: Supply chain finance and the payments industry

Trade digitisation permeates nearly every conversation about the future of supply chain finance, and that trade finance ecosystems are evolving faster than ever before amidst mounting macroeconomic pressures and exciting new technologies is certain. Read more → 

Mauritius’ journey towards pan-African growth

Mauritius, the tiny island country off the coast of East Africa, has been hailed as an African financial miracle. Despite its remote location and population of just over a million people, the country consistently tops financial services and openness rankings for the region. Read more → 

• TFG launches Trade Finance Partners, broadening institutional access to trade finance
• VIDEO | A match made in trade: Supply chain finance and the payments industry
• PODCAST | A stroke of GENIUS? Implications of digital assets policy 
• Mauritius’ journey towards pan-African growth
• Agribusiness and India’s place in global supply chains
• J.P. Morgan becomes the first US bank to resume dollar clearing in Angola
• Stablecoin adoption grows in Venezuela amid hyperinflation and US war fears
• Geopolitical risk makes shipping decarbonisation “nearly unattainable,” finds new research

TFG launches Trade Finance Partners, broadening institutional access to trade finance

Trade Finance Global (TFG) today announced the launch of Trade Finance Partners (TFP), a new trade finance group established to provide institutional-grade payables and structured trade facilities for importers, exporters, and traders across global markets. Read more →

VIDEO | A match made in trade: Supply chain finance and the payments industry

At the 2025 Sibos conference in Frankfurt, Germany, Trade Finance Global (TFG) spoke to Duncan Lodge, Global Head of Trade Finance, GPS EMEA at Bank of America, to find out about the evolution of supply chain finance and its intersection with an ever-expanding payments industry. Read more → 

PODCAST | A stroke of GENIUS? Implications of digital assets policy 

Jason Allegrente, the Chief Legal and Compliance Officer at Fireblocks, had an insightful chat with Silvia Andreoletti, Senior Reporter at Trade Finance Global (TFG), about regulations and government involvement in the digital assets industry. Read more → 

Mauritius’ journey towards pan-African growth

Mauritius, the tiny island country off the coast of East Africa, has been hailed as an African financial miracle. Despite its remote location and population of just over a million people, the country consistently tops financial services and openness rankings for the region. Read more → 

Agribusiness and India’s place in global supply chains

For India, a country where agriculture has long been the backbone of society, its evolution into a global supply chain player was always inevitable – and its impact will be transformative. Read more → 

J.P. Morgan becomes the first US bank to resume dollar clearing in Angola

A country which ranks persistently among the world’s most corrupt has recently seen a boost to its international standing. J.P. Morgan has recently announced that it will resume dollar clearing in Angola, a significant development as they are the first US bank to do so. Read more → 

Stablecoin adoption grows in Venezuela amid hyperinflation and US war fears

Venezuelans are increasingly looking towards stablecoins linked to safe global currencies, like USDT, to protect their savings from the hyperinflation, set to rise to 270% by the end of 2025, currently affecting the Venezuelan bolivar. Read more →

Geopolitical risk makes shipping decarbonisation “nearly unattainable,” finds new research

Global conflict and geopolitical instability are significantly hindering the decarbonisation of the global shipping industry by increasing shipping emissions and forcing countries affected to abandon sustainability goals in favour of economic efficiency, according to a paper published yesterday in Nature. Read more →

• VIDEO | Reshaping world trade: The next quarter century of supply chain finance
• AfCFTA lays the foundation for unified African trade: Can continental banking build on it?
• PODCAST | Bridging the commodity trade finance gap with transparency and innovation
• “Technology agnostic does not mean technology blind”: Bank of England unveils new approach to AI, DLT, and quantum computing
• Can Sanae Takaichi keep trade finance momentum in Japan?
• WTO-World Bank report takes stock of digital trade in Africa
• Tariff Tracker update: port fees and rare earths become new tools in international trade war

VIDEO | Reshaping world trade: The next quarter century of supply chain finance

The global trade finance gap remains stuck at an alarming $2.5 trillion – a shortfall that disproportionately impacts small businesses in emerging economies and highlights the urgent need for new solutions that strengthen access and resilience across supply chains. Read more →

AfCFTA lays the foundation for unified African trade: Can continental banking build on it?

The CEFS report highlights that the removal of both tariff and non-tariff trade barriers and the settlement systems, which AfCFTA promises, will catalyse the continent’s financial integration. For banks, this means regional lending, risk pooling, and product innovation for continental clients. Read more → 

PODCAST | Bridging the commodity trade finance gap with transparency and innovation

Even with greater transparency, there still is a mismatch between investor expectations and market realities. Many institutional investors enter the space with high return expectations, while commodity traders are accustomed to the lower-cost financing they historically accessed from banks. Read more → 

“Technology agnostic does not mean technology blind”: Bank of England unveils new approach to AI, DLT, and quantum computing

Overall, the Bank’s vision is one of close consultation and collaboration with private companies and players in the financial sector to find the sweet spot between enabling innovation and preventing risks, including shocks to the national economy. Read more → 

Can Sanae Takaichi keep trade finance momentum in Japan?

The £1.6 billion trade finance market was a critical lubricant for Japan’s once-export-dependent economy. Takaichi’s promises pragmatism in rule, and it remains to be seen whether this can transcend her conservative credentials. Read more → 

WTO-World Bank report takes stock of digital trade in Africa

Digital trade in Africa is growing faster than anywhere else in the world, expanding by 13% last year. However, this is also because the continent is so far behind the rest of the world on digital trade: in 2023, less than two in five people in sub-Saharan Africa had access to the internet.  Read more →

Tariff Tracker update: port fees and rare earths become new tools in international trade war

The trade war between US President Donald Trump and pretty much every other country on earth is raging on, and its weapons of choice are only growing more varied.  Read more →

• VOXPOP | Sibos Frankfurt, 2025, in a word
• VIDEO | Risk management solutions in the modern age
• Absa’s African Financial Markets Index shows a resilient and innovative continent
• VIDEO | Resilience is the new efficiency: The future of supply chains
• A history of port fees: US-China trade war escalates
• VIDEO | A race against crime: Anti-fraud in the payments sphere
• Banking in an uncertain world: How geopolitics and technology are rewiring transactional finance

VOXPOP | Sibos Frankfurt, 2025, in a word

At this year’s Sibos conference in Frankfurt, Germany, Trade Finance Global (TFG) asked attendees and speakers how they would summarise this year’s Sibos conference in one word. Read more →

VIDEO | Risk management solutions in the modern age

But while the onus should be on governments and regulatory bodies to lay out the rules, it’s up to individual organisations to develop fraud prevention and detection solutions for organisations to implement. Read more → 

Absa’s African Financial Markets Index shows a resilient and innovative continent

The ninth Annual African Financial Markets Index, launched today by multinational African bank Absa, shows a continent that has remained relatively stable despite tariff and geopolitical turbulence, where ambitious reforms and product diversification compete with declining liquidity and investor caution. Read more → 

VIDEO | Resilience is the new efficiency: The future of supply chains

To what extent has “resilience become the new efficiency”? For Kai Fehr, HSBC’s Global Head of Industry Groups & Partnerships, there is a requirement to embed resilience into every layer of trade finance, to navigate a global trade landscape fraught with geopolitical risk. Read more → 

A history of port fees: US-China trade war escalates

A new weapon in the US and China’s trade war arsenal, reciprocal port fees, is set to take effect today, Tuesday, 14 October. Thus far, tariffs have been the weapon of choice in the US-China trade war, but escalating port fees represent a direct assault on maritime logistics, creating powerful disincentives for freight providers. Read more → 

VIDEO | A race against crime: Anti-fraud in the payments sphere

Although payment technologies have become faster, more efficient, and sophisticated year on year, payment fraud rates have kept pace. Traditional payment methods such as debit cards and cheques still create massive exposure for financial institutions. Read more →

Banking in an uncertain world: How geopolitics and technology are rewiring transactional finance

At this year’s BAFT Global Council’s Forum in Frankfurt, Germany, a panel of senior leaders from prominent global and regional banks explored how shifting political tensions and economic dynamics are creating deep uncertainty for the industry, and how banks are adapting their strategies in response. Read more →

• PODCAST | You can’t predict the weather, but you can insure for it: Credit insurance and the future of energy
• First Brands Group’s bankruptcy and the dangers of improper trade finance accounting
• PODCAST | Notches on the Belt and Road: Asian approaches to investment in Africa
• Strikes, protests, and Red Sea developments place European shipping in jeopardy
• Moldova becomes 41st member of Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA)
• Sibos 2025: Clearstream and Vyntra partner to improve transaction transparency

PODCAST | You can’t predict the weather, but you can insure for it: Credit insurance and the future of energy

In a conversation with Trade Finance Global (TFG), Madeleine Whiteley, Senior Client Manager at Aon, explored how credit insurance is helping energy clients navigate volatility, adapt to the transition to renewables, and manage the uncertainties that define today’s market.  Read more →

First Brands Group’s bankruptcy and the dangers of improper trade finance accounting

According to documents seen by the Financial Times, the company held $2.3 billion in factoring facilities and $682 million in supply chain finance (SCF) at the end of 2024, alongside more than $8 billion in debt and inventory-backed financing through related entities. Read more → 

PODCAST | Notches on the Belt and Road: Asian approaches to investment in Africa

In a grocery store in Cape Town, Korean instant noodles and ice cups sit alongside local biltong. “The younger generation is observing on social media, and has now created a demand for, these items,” observed Zaynab Hoosen, Senior Africa Analyst at Pangea Risk, of her home town. Read more → 

Strikes, protests, and Red Sea developments place European shipping in jeopardy

Supply chain disruption and industrial action have, in the last week, demonstrated the fragility of maritime shipping across Europe, exacerbating an already uncertain situation for international maritime logistics companies. The fates of Maersk, the global shipping giant, exemplify the situation. Read more → 

Moldova becomes 41st member of Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA)

Moldova became a full member of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) today on Monday, 6 October, allowing citizens and businesses to process euro transfers at the same rates and speeds as those in European Union (EU) member states. Read more → 

Sibos 2025: Clearstream and Vyntra partner to improve transaction transparency

Vyntra and Clearstream, the global post-trade services provider, signed an agreement at the Sibos conference in Frankfurt, Germany, to strengthen operational control and improve transparency and compliance. Read more →

• VIDEO | Trends in and tricks of the trade
• Sibos 2025: HSBC Asset Management’s Trade and Working Capital Solutions launch in collaboration with its Global Trade Solutions business
• Beyond the balance sheet: How CFOs and treasurers are transforming working capital into growth capital
• The road to faster payments: Latest trends in transaction banking
• Sibos 2025: Barclays partners with CGI and Komgo to digitise its trade finance operations
• Sibos 2025: Visa pilots stablecoin prefunding for faster cross-border payments
• Sibos 2025: LSEG’s World-Check On Demand set to transform risk intelligence data
• Sibos 2025: Temenos launches AI-powered payments and accounts management platform

VIDEO | Trends in and tricks of the trade

At the 2025 Sibos conference in Frankfurt, Germany, Mahika Ravi Shankar, Deputy Editor at Trade Finance Global, spoke to Andrew Bateman, Executive Vice President of Finastra’s Lending Business Unit, about the key trends shaping trade finance and how institutions can stay ahead of the rapid changes driven by AI. Read more → 

Sibos 2025: HSBC Asset Management’s Trade and Working Capital Solutions launch in collaboration with its Global Trade Solutions business

HSBC Asset Management (HSBC AM), the investment management business of the HSBC Group, has today launched its Trade and Working Capital Solutions strategy. Read more → 

Beyond the balance sheet: How CFOs and treasurers are transforming working capital into growth capital

In today’s unpredictable economic environment, corporate liquidity management is more high-stakes than ever. The latest Visa Working Capital Index reveals a profound shift in how CFOs and treasurers are shaping the future of working capital management. Read more → 

The road to faster payments: Latest trends in transaction banking

At the 2025 Sibos conference in Frankfurt, Germany, Trade Finance Global (TFG) spoke to Surath Sengupta, Head of Transaction Banking Products at Lloyds Bank, to hear about the most exciting recent developments in transaction banking, the industry’s biggest highlights in the past few years, and what’s to come. Read more → 

Sibos 2025: Barclays partners with CGI and Komgo to digitise its trade finance operations

Barclays has struck a partnership with Canadian IT consultancy CGI to integrate digital trade finance platforms, as the UK lender seeks to modernise operations and meet growing corporate demand for automated financial services. Read more → 

Sibos 2025: Visa pilots stablecoin prefunding for faster cross-border payments

At the Sibos 2025 conference in Frankfurt, Germany, Visa announced it would launch a stablecoin prefunding pilot through Visa Direct, its real-time digital payments network. Read more → 

Sibos 2025: LSEG’s World-Check On Demand set to transform risk intelligence data

LSEG Risk Intelligence, the provider of risk management solutions, has launched World-Check On Demand, a real-time risk intelligence platform designed to transform how financial institutions access sanctions, politically exposed persons (PEPs), adverse media, and enforcement actions data. Read more → 

Sibos 2025: Temenos launches AI-powered payments and accounts management platform

As fintechs began to rise in the early 2010s, it was clear that the position of traditional banks in global finance was about to change. Discourse in and out of the industry focused on the chances of fintechs killing bank branches. Read more → 

• VIDEO | 25 years of supply chain finance: A journey to unlock liquidity
• Leasing: The lesser-known path to greater liquidity
• VIDEO | Growing economies, widening gap: Increasing access to trade finance in Africa
• Interoperability as the bridge: Africa’s SMEs can thrive in a new era of cross-border trade
• VIDEO | Financing growth in an uncertain world
• Lessons from the June 2025 Israel-Iran conflict: The impact of geopolitical shocks on global logistics
• VIDEO | Industry leaders chart trade finance through the stormy seas of global volatility
• The remittance race: Have fintechs outpaced traditional banks?

VIDEO | 25 years of supply chain finance: A journey to unlock liquidity

Supply chain finance has always been crucial in creating working capital solutions for companies. However, as established supply chains are buffeted by events such as COVID-19 or structural shifts caused by the impact of US tariffs, supply chain finance will play an increasingly crucial role in facilitating negotiations and enabling trade. Read more → 

Leasing: The lesser-known path to greater liquidity

Did you know that the leasing industry is projected to reach over £291 billion by 2030? Despite its growing importance, many businesses and banks often overlook its strategic potential. Read more → 

VIDEO | Growing economies, widening gap: Increasing access to trade finance in Africa

According to the World Bank Group, over a billion people in different countries have been lifted out of poverty through open trade policies. This could have been more, but the trade finance gap has constantly clogged the wheel of global trade productivity. Read more → 

Interoperability as the bridge: Africa’s SMEs can thrive in a new era of cross-border trade

Walk into any small business in Lagos, Nairobi, or Johannesburg, and you’ll see the same thing: ambition trumping circumstance. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) make up the majority of businesses across the continent, such as in sub-Saharan Africa where they account for 95% of all registered businesses and contribute 50% of the total GDP. Read more → 

VIDEO | Financing growth in an uncertain world 

According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), uncertainty is the “watchword.” Late-stage globalisation means the global market is extremely sensitive to the actions of one country. Read more → 

Lessons from the June 2025 Israel-Iran conflict: The impact of geopolitical shocks on global logistics

In June 2025, Israel’s strikes on Iranian targets and Iran’s retaliatory attacks sent shockwaves through global logistics networks. Brent crude jumped more than 10%, airlines rerouted flights to avoid conflict zones, and the threat of a Strait of Hormuz closure. Read more → 

VIDEO | Industry leaders chart trade finance through the stormy seas of global volatility

Everywhere you look seems to be, in a word, volatile. The trade finance industry continues to grapple with a $2.5 trillion trade finance gap, constraining economic growth for those who most need it. Yet, the trade finance industry is demonstrating remarkable resilience. Read more → 

The remittance race: Have fintechs outpaced traditional banks? 

As fintechs began to rise in the early 2010s, it was clear that the position of traditional banks in global finance was about to change. Discourse in and out of the industry focused on the chances of fintechs killing bank branches. Read more → 

• PODCAST | Tariffs, inside and out
• VIDEO | What has been the single biggest trend at ITFA Singapore 2025?
• Surecomp and Finverity partner for end-to-end integrated trade and supply chain finance
• VIDEO | Trade ecosystems, reimagined: Accelerating trade finance digitalisation over the next 25 years
• Over half of UK firms ended supplier relationships due to tariffs, says new Agiloft report
• VIDEO | 25 years of trade distribution: Regulation, resilience, and renewal
• Is trade finance ready for AI?
• UK Law Commission closes consultation on DLT, electronic trade documents

PODCAST | Tariffs, inside and out

Tariffs have evolved from a more specialised economic tool to one gaining political and ideological ramifications, generating renewed and expanded interest in them. Read more → 

VIDEO | What has been the single biggest trend at ITFA Singapore 2025?

As you will see, the most common answer was “collaboration”. Yes, there is volatility. But stakeholders across the trade ecosystem recognise this, and for everyone involved, a solution is required.  Read more → 

Surecomp and Finverity partner for end-to-end integrated trade and supply chain finance

Digital trade finance solutions provider Surecomp announced yesterday it would partner with Finverity, a London-based supply chain finance technology firm, to provide banks and financial institutions with fully integrated, end-to-end trade and supply chain finance processing. Read more → 

VIDEO | Trade ecosystems, reimagined: Accelerating trade finance digitalisation over the next 25 years

Recent tariff and regulatory developments are making trade technology, once the forgotten little brother of treasury management, into a crucial tool for agility and resilience. Technology and AI are compounding this shift, making innovation easier – and more attractive – than ever. Read more →

Over half of UK firms ended supplier relationships due to tariffs, says new Agiloft report

A new report by contract management provider Agiloft, published today, finds that geopolitical tensions and tariff uncertainty are fundamentally changing the way companies manage contracts in international trade. Read more →

VIDEO | 25 years of trade distribution: Regulation, resilience, and renewal

Previously limited to risk-sharing between banks, trade distribution now increasingly involves insurers, reinsurers, and institutional investors, making it a key approach for freeing up bank capital and addressing the $2.5 trillion global trade finance gap. Read more → 

Is trade finance ready for AI?

Mitigram, the end-to-end trade finance platform for corporates and financial institutions which digitises and automates pricing requests in a marketplace, have recently partnered with Complidata, specialists in AI-driven trade finance automation and financial crime compliance. Read more →

UK Law Commission closes consultation on DLT, electronic trade documents

The Law Commission, an independent organisation tasked with reviewing English and Welsh law, closed a consultation last week which reviewed how private international law operates in the context of electronic trade documents and digital assets. Read more →