Corporate trade data can reveal financing needs before pressure builds, provided banks access it in time. Increasingly banks are focusing on that earlier window by deepening connectivity with clients and partners, using technology and ledger data to bring sharper visibility into trade finance.
Trade finance runs on data, but much of the information that could shape financing decisions still reaches banks late, fragmented or embedded in documents and disconnected systems.
The industry is now targeting that gap. The focus is shifting towards moving operational data into trade and working capital decisions sooner, giving banks a clearer view of client needs earlier in the financing cycle.
“Data is a critical enabler,” says Jaya Vohra, global head of trade & working capital at Barclays. “Ultimately, our clients are looking for access, information, speed and efficiency.”
In trade finance, that is not a small request. Data is spread across corporate ERP systems, accounting platforms, compliance databases and partner networks. Financing decisions depend on how quickly that information is recorded, assessed and acted upon, making connectivity a central priority for banks.
By linking client systems, external data sources and internal bank infrastructure, banks can gain a clearer view of what is happening inside a corporate’s business. The more complete that picture becomes, the earlier the bank can move from responding to a request to anticipating where support may be needed.
A sharper view of liquidity
This shift is particularly visible in open account trade and working capital finance. Across the industry, integrations with plaforms such as Validis, which extracts and standardises transaction-level ledger data from corporate accounting and ERP systems, are helping banks build a consistent, finance-grade view of receivables across clients, regardless of the underlying platform.
The clear objective is to move away from manual submissions and gain an increasingly real-time view of a client’s receivables position.
“If new receivables are coming in, a client should have the ability to refresh the data, recalculate the borrowing base and update the facility size within 24 hours,” says Michael Turner, CEO at Validis. “That shift moves working capital lending to a more continuous model, where facility size can closely track the client’s receivables position as it changes through the month.”
That improvement depends on connecting with the systems clients use. Major accounting platforms are only part of the picture; many businesses still rely on sector-specific or older systems that are harder to integrate.
“It took us 10 years to build connectivity with around 30-plus accounting packages,” says Turner. “With AI accelerating that development, we have supported hundreds of different ERPs in the past 12 months.”
Those connections provide working capital finance with a broader evidence base. Faster access to ledger data improves efficiency and brings financing capacity closer to need, letting the conversation move with the client’s position rather than trail behind it.
That ledger data also becomes the foundation for the AI-driven analysis that sits further down the financing chain. Clean, standardised inputs are what make faster, more confident credit decisions possible.
“The cost of working capital remains high, so the question is how we deliver financing to clients at the right time and for the right period,” says Vohra.
In a volatile trading environment, timing matters. Geopolitical disruption, tariff changes and supply chain shifts are part of today’s operating backdrop. Earlier visibility gives banks more room to assess risk, understand financing needs and respond before pressure builds.
Over time, external data sources can enrich that picture, giving banks a fuller view of client risk, market disruption and financing need. At that point, connectivity becomes part of how banks and corporates build resilience into trade flows.
Reusable by design
Connectivity is not only about access, it is also about design. APIs are often described as the pipes of digital finance, but in trade, they only matter if they reduce friction for the corporate. A poorly designed connection just adds another bespoke link for corporate finance and technology teams to monitor and maintain.
That makes reusability critical. CGI, a business consultancy firm with a leading trade platform, and Komgo, a multi-bank trade finance channel, show how that looks in practice; connecting the CGI Trade360 platform with Komgo’s application for standby letters of credit and guarantees.
Enabling API connectivity between the two platforms offers a more consistent service to multi-banked clients and does so in a simpler way for both clients and banks.
The operational benefit is straightforward. Data moves from the client’s platform into the bank’s processing environment without being lifted out and rekeyed.
“Customers using the Komgo multi-bank platform can push data through to their bank, where it moves straight into the back office for processing,” says Patrick DeVilbiss, head of product, trade and supply chain finance, at CGI.
For API connectivity to scale, standards must enable one integration to be usable across multiple banks, platforms or client relationships.
“We built the standby and guarantee standards from Swift and the International Chamber of Commerce into CGI Trade360 deliberately,” says DeVilbiss. “The aim is to make the same protocol reusable, so a connection developed for one platform can support another client or third-party application. That is where the model becomes powerful.”
Reading risk more clearly
Even as the technology stack moves further into trade finance, documentary trade is not disappearing. Paper and unstructured documents remain embedded in the system, particularly where legal frameworks, counterparties and local market practices are not yet aligned.
The work now is to make the information inside those documents usable. Optical character recognition and AI-enabled tools help convert unstructured trade information into structured data that can be read, analysed and used across bank processes.
“Clients expect agility in trade finance.”
Jaya Vohra, Barclays
That work is critical in the control environment around trade. The challenge is to preserve the rigour of compliance, KYC and financial crime checks while giving decision-makers a clearer view of the client, the transaction and the risk.
“The traditional approach to financial crime controls has been very manual, checklist-based and document-led,” says Vohra. “Data, APIs and AI give banks the potential to rewire that process, moving from a purely transaction-level mindset to a more informed client-level view.”
Better-structured information gives specialists a clearer view of the client and the transaction, helping them spot the issues that matter sooner. The result is a control process with less friction.
Tailored to the client
Across the industry, banks are increasingly adopting partner-led models. Client consent, data standards and internal infrastructure matter because connectivity has to fit trade’s complex realities.
That makes design discipline critical. As AI and automation change what banks and technology partners can deliver, more data and faster tools only matter if they solve real client problems.
“The constraint used to be what could make it onto the roadmap in the next year or two,” says Turner. “As build capacity changes, the harder question becomes whether the design truly adds value for clients, rather than simply creating more features.”
Once those tools move closer to daily processing, that client-value test will become sharper. The strongest use cases will be those that remove low-value work from already-stretched teams.
“AI will allow specialists to focus on the areas of real importance, rather than the tasks that consume time without adding much value,” says DeVilbiss. “In trade finance, I don’t think people are quite ready for what things could look like in five years’ time.”
Putting the client front and centre is essential. Faster tools and cleaner data will only earn trust if they avoid flattening complex corporate needs into a standardised response.
“Clients expect agility in trade finance,” says Vohra. “As digital strategies evolve, they still need personalisation and an acknowledgement of their individual interests.”
“The focus on connectivity and the data flowing into trade is about matching the dynamism corporates now expect across working capital and trade finance,” says Vohra.
