Banks and corporates are operating in a very different world than a decade ago. Trade corridors are shifting, regulatory environments are tightening, and global supply chains continue to respond to geopolitical complexity. The result is a more demanding trade finance landscape where agility and compliance must go hand in hand.
The stakes are high. The trade finance market reached USD 9.7 trillion in 2024 and is forecast to keep expanding, growing at more than 3% annually through 2034. Much of this growth is driven by digital transformation. Yet digital progress brings new risks to manage alongside the opportunities. Institutions need clear roadmaps that align technology adoption with business outcomes.
AI is accelerating trade finance transformation
Artificial intelligence has already proven its value in automating manual work, reducing errors, and improving response times. GenAI-powered assistants and chatbots are making user experiences smoother and helping teams work faster. What is emerging now is a more advanced model of AI that doesn’t just execute instructions but supports smarter decision making.
Agentic AI can analyze multiple data points and understand historical patterns. It enhances workflows by spotting risk signals earlier and guiding users with contextual insight. Combining this intelligence with GenAI unlocks a more intuitive user experience, one where teams can question systems, explore data differently, and accelerate processing with confidence.
Cloud-native architecture and open APIs are amplifying these benefits. They make integration easier and give banks the flexibility to build around their core systems. At the same time, these capabilities allow corporate clients to tailor their digital channels, delivering the differentiated services their customers now expect.
Managing regulatory and geopolitical complexity
Trade finance has always carried high regulatory expectations. Fragmented rulebooks across regions and ongoing geopolitical pressures add further complexity. Banks need to ensure their systems can adapt quickly without slowing business.
Strong integration layers are becoming essential. Treasury, supply chain finance, document management and compliance tools must work in concert to enable secure, frictionless data movement across jurisdictions. Embedding compliance into core processes ensures resilience even as rules evolve.
To strengthen their position, institutions should focus on:
- Real-time monitoring to counter cyber and fraud risks
- Digital documentation and support for electronic transferable records
- Clear data residency controls that align with global standards
These capabilities improve interoperability and create more reliable working capital flows for clients.
Closing the SME trade finance gap
Small and mid-sized businesses drive a large share of global trade ambition, yet many still struggle to access finance. The ADB estimates the trade finance gap at USD 2.5 trillion, with SMEs carrying the majority of that burden.
Banks have a major opportunity to reduce that gap by modernizing how they assess and serve smaller businesses. Faster digital onboarding, richer risk profiling and timely liquidity provision are already reshaping SME finance. Sustainability-linked performance drivers are giving many of these firms a chance to demonstrate their strengths in new ways.
Supply chain finance also plays an important role. When banks link trade data with lending and working capital products, SMEs gain a more accurate and complete financial view. That transparency enables more inclusive credit decisions and quicker access to funds.
Ultimately, the ability to support SMEs at scale depends on internal efficiency. Modern systems give banks the flexibility to grow their portfolios without adding friction.
What comes next?
Trade finance is on the cusp of a major shift. Agentic AI will drive faster compliance and smarter decisions across the lifecycle of a transaction. Tokenization is beginning to reshape how assets move across borders. Cloud and APIs will continue to dismantle technical silos and accelerate innovation. Advances in regtech will help institutions respond to regulation with far greater speed and certainty.
There isn’t one single technology that will define the next generation of trade finance. It’s the integration of all these elements – data, intelligence, connectivity – that will determine who thrives.
Trade is resilient by nature. Our role as technology partners is to ensure banks and corporates are equipped to navigate complexity and seize opportunity. Those moving now toward fully digital, intelligent trade finance operations are already setting the pace for the decade ahead.
