Banks have been on a 50-year journey to digitize trade finance. They and other trade participants, consortiums, and governments have made material inroads in reducing paper, manual processes, and fraud. Nevertheless, the quest to digitize is far from over. Today, generative AI (GenAI) and agentic AI shows potential to deliver the next milestone in digitization.

Some prime examples across the trade finance value chain are shown below.

Figure: GenAI Skills Driving Next Level Digitization

The confluence of two powerful forces will drive disruption, improvements, and attendant opportunity in trade finance. First, GenAI tech advances are showing early signs of driving improvements across the trade finance value chain. Second, macroeconomic factors and supply chain shifts are triggering disruptions. Combined, these forces are raising the value of excellence in trade finance, opening the door of opportunity for banks.

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