Following an initial educational phase of 2 years, the ITFA Fintech Committee is shifting gear with two strategic initiatives that tackle industry-wide ambitions. By facilitating collaboration amongst multiple fintechs and contributing through its expertise in defining new market practices, the ITFA Board demonstrates again it is best positioned to deliver more value to its core membership. […]

The market challenge: understanding global trade tensions and flows Never has trade been a greater focus of global attention. Its role as a driver of economic growth is increasingly being usurped by its strategic role in furthering national agendas. Until very recently trade was seen as a benign mechanism for promoting global economic growth. Today, […]

Data technology and machine learning go together and two ITFA fintech’s have started an exciting collaboration to combine their niche value propositions to the benefit of trade originators and their exporting clients. Challenges in Trade Operations Documentary trade, traditionally facilitated by letters of credit (LCs) issued by banks, is often expected to be fading away […]

Fourteen leading global financial institutions have launched a drive to use technology and standardisation for the wider distribution of trade finance assets. ANZ, Crédit Agricole CIB, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, ING, Lloyds Bank, Rabobank, Standard Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation are among the banks backing the Trade Finance Distribution Initiative (TFD Initiative). […]

The first ITFA Young professionals event, Risk Distribution in Trade Finance and Career options, and advice in a FinTech kicked off at Tradeteqs office in London on the 20th of March 2019, followed by a networking reception. The event was well attended by participants ranging from Banks, Insurers, Legal firms and FinTechs. The event got […]

Having recently joined ITFA as members, Trade Finance Global (TFG) heard from 6 interesting fintech startups in the trade and receivables ecosystem, talking at the ITFA Fintech Discovery Day in Helsinki. The ICC estimates around $9 USD trillion of global trade finance is done each year, yet non-banks and institutions only provide $250 USD billion […]

Data technology and machine learning go together. This is why two ITFA fintechs started to collaborate in 2018 to combine their niche value propositions to the benefit of trade originators, their clients and liquidity providers. Data related challenges in credit management The existing bank credit underwriting and credit scoring approaches are very rigid and require […]

Innovations in trade finance are making headlines. Transaction analytics, new trade finance platforms, AI/ML technologies, blockchain infrastructures, … are all promising to modernise global trade finance practices. How will those innovations impact human operations though? Will trade finance specialists be rendered obsolete in an era of automated operations? Or will increased use of technology kill two birds with one stone: upgrading […]

Following a busy Sibos week, some of the ITFA fintechs (6 out of 11) got together at ANZ in Sydney to showcase their value propositions and to demonstrate their desire to collaborate with regional and local financial institutions. The “Bank – Fintech” collaboration mindset was high on the agenda. SWIFT’s annual conference – Sibos – […]

Disruption – which disruption? Much has been said about the upcoming “fintech disruption”. About 4 years ago, emerging technology companies identified as “fintechs” were mostly finger-pointed as attempting to create the next wave of competition against established financial institutions (FI’s). At that time, most bankers viewed fintechs as new entrants trying to enter the financial […]

As transaction banking is witnessing a flurry of digital innovations, one major value proposition stands out: transaction visibility and control through enhanced tracking. By André Casterman, Chief Marketing Officer at INTIX, the data management fintech and Chair of the ITFA Fintech Committee. Doing business requires the continuous exchange of information, of money as well as […]

Over the recent months, more examples of collaboration between fintechs and established financial institutions have emerged, leaving little doubt about the actual opportunity for incumbents to embrace technology and business innovations brought to market by so-called “fintech companies”. How is such collaboration impacting ITFA members? Is it already effective? Is now a good time for […]

The secondary market for trade finance in Asia is undergoing a digital evolution. With institutional investors accessing this emerging asset class through new digital platforms and banks expanding their reach, it could help narrow the trade finance gap. Asia’s trade finance gap remains an enduring and testing problem, stifling job creation and economic growth The […]

How can transaction bankers benefit from the same convenience they enjoy as consumers when navigating the Internet, on their financial transaction data? As consumer, each and everyone of us is browsing the internet and thereby using the one or the other search engine to find what we are looking for. The convenience, speed and accuracy […]

The ITFA Fintech Committee pursued its roadshow and gathered ITFA fintechs INTIX, CCRManager, Tradeteq, LiquidX and TrustBills in Frankfurt ON 6 June 2018. The event showcased new opportunities for banks to collaborate with fintech solution providers. It was a busy afternoon for the 60+ ITFA members who attended the German Regional Committee (GRC) meeting that […]