Documentary Collections (“Collections”) occupy a distinctive position within the landscape of international trade finance. They sit between open account trading, where goods and documents flow with minimal banking involvement, and Documentary Credits, where banks assume a central and risk-bearing role. For many exporters and importers, Collections offer a pragmatic balance: greater control over documents than open account, but at a lower cost and with fewer formalities than a Documentary Credit.

In 2025, the global factoring industry surpassed €4 trillion in turnover for the first time, reaching €4,039 billion. This marks a 3.7% increase from €3,895 billion in 2024, according to the latest FCI World Factoring Statistics. This growth follows a year of consolidation in 2024 and showcases the continued resilience and relevance of factoring and receivables finance in supporting the real economy. 

The Common Fund for Commodities (CFC), in partnership with the Agricultural Commodity Transformation (ACT) Fund, has announced the approval of a significant grant by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN) of Germany. The ministry has approved a €500,000 grant to strengthen the ACT Fund’s Technical Assistance (TA) Facility, which will be managed by CFC’s experienced in-house TA Facility team. 

By: Shaun Puckrin, Chief Product Officer at GoCardless
The way people shop and pay is changing faster than most realise. Over the next few years, we will see a shift from AI acting as a research assistant to AI acting as an autonomous shopper. We call this agentic commerce.

In October 2025, Crédit Agricole CIB commenced production use of SECRO’s proprietary blockchain technology to digitalise its transactional commodity operations. This partnership culminated early in 2026 with the bank’s first fully digital commercial transaction in the energy sector, involving a major global trader and financed by the bank.

Day 2 at Payments Canada Summit in the Accelerated payments session on ‘frictionless finance: how payment innovation drives working capital efficiency’

Panellists Patrick DeVilbiss (Head of Product, Trade & Supply Chain Finance, CGI), Sunil Gupta (Director, Trade & Supply Chain Finance, BMO), Dwain Neckles (SVP, Mastercard Corporate Solutions, Mastercard), and Ryan Kinghorn (Senior Optimization Consultant, BMO), cover a range of topics from instant payments, APIs, supply chain finance, working capital, and how they all tie together.

The Ministry of Industry & Advanced Technology | وزارة الصناعة والتكنولوجيا المتقدمة (MoIAT) of the United Arab Emirates has secured $4.9 billion in financing agreements with leading national banks to accelerate industrial growth, reported Devanshee Dave from Trade Treasury Payments (TTP).

Hasan Jasem Al Nowais, Undersecretary of MoIAT, said, “These partnerships reflect our approach to translating industrial strategy into action at scale and speed, strengthening collaboration with leading national financial institutions to support sustainable industrial growth and enhance supply chain resilience.”

Ahmed Mohamed Al Naqbi, Chief Executive of Emirates Development Bank (EDB), said, “The $1.63 billion financing underscores our commitment to strengthening the UAE’s industrial sector by offering accessible and competitive funding that supports growth, enhances competitiveness, and enables expansion into new markets.”

Saud Al Jassim, Chief of Commercial Banking at Dubai Islamic Bank, added, "Dubai Islamic Bank will provide Sharia-compliant financing solutions to improve operational efficiency and competitiveness.”

Ahmed Abdelaal, Group Chief Executive of Mashreq, also quoted, “Mashreq will support the UAE’s target of raising the industrial sector’s contribution to GDP to AED 300 billion ($81.7 billion) by 2031. We will continue to back industrial companies with capital, advisory capabilities, and global reach.”

Over the past day, banks, regulators, multilaterals, lawyers, fintechs and trade specialists gathered in Tunisia to discuss the move from fragmented, paper-based trade towards interoperable and legally recognised digital trade ecosystems.

As supply chains continue to fragment and global trade routes evolve, the ability to move trade documents, financing and data efficiently across borders is becoming strategically important for both banks and national economies.

🔸 Surveys show that 52% of firms across the region experienced supply chain disruption linked to inflationary pressures, while 49% responded by diversifying suppliers and sourcing from a larger number of counterparties.
 🔸 Tunisia was highlighted as one of the most digitally advanced economies in the southern and eastern Mediterranean region, with growing potential as a nearshoring and trade hub connecting Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
 🔸 Fully digitalising trade could reduce Tunisia’s trade costs by 5.5% and increase exports by approximately US$2.48bn.
 🔸 International Chamber of Commerce DSI also highlighted that 62.5% of global exports now come from economies aligned with, or committed to aligning with, UNCITRAL: United Nations Commission on International Trade Law’s MLETR framework for electronic transferable records.
 🔸 Operational case studies presented during the conference showed electronic bills of lading reducing amendment times from more than a week to less than 24 hours, while digital trade documentation reduced some processing costs by up to 70%.

🔸 ITC’s DTRRAM assessment of Tunisia’s digital trade readiness analysed more than 100 legal and regulatory texts, identified 40+ public sector stakeholders and reviewed more than 3000 verifiable regulatory data points.

The conference also brought together representatives from Tunisia’s banking sector, including BH Bank, Attijari bank Tunisie, UBCI, BIAT and Zitouna Bank, to discuss the practical implementation challenges surrounding digital trade adoption, legal interoperability and trade finance modernisation.

Trade Treasury Payments (TTP) was proud to support coverage of the conference alongside partners including the EBRD, International Chamber of Commerce Digital Standards Initiative (ICC DSI) and ICC-Tunisia

Commodity Trading Week Europe is underway in London, bringing together industry leaders to explore liquidity resilience, compliance, sourcing strategies, and risk management across global commodity markets.

Representing Trade Treasury Payments (TTP), Eleanor Hill is moderating discussions on trade finance resilience and market volatility alongside Dhaval Shah (AfriMet Resources AG), Natalia Haas Melnikova (batyr AG), and Sean Edwards (SMBC Group and ITFA), with conversations focused on CCR frameworks, financing tools, commodity price volatility, and how firms are adapting financing models amid ongoing disruption.

The event also features a compliance focused panel moderated by Steve Young CEO of the Association of Corporate Investigators, joined by Basha Galvin (BAT), Isabella Merlin (Eni Trade & Biofuels), Jonathan Waters (Gafta: The Grain and Feed Trade Association), and Nabeel Ebrahim (Behavox) to examine how compliance expectations are evolving across commodity markets.

Follow TTP for more live updates and key takeaways from the event.

 🔸 EU countries are pressing for the rapid implementation of their commitments under the trade deal with the United States to prevent the threatened increase of US tariffs on European cars and trucks to 25%.
 🔸 Negotiations between the European Parliament and the Council will resume to lower EU duties on imported US goods, with the Parliament seeking multiple safeguards amid recent US tariff threats.
 🔸 Despite the deal struck in July 2025, the EU has yet to remove tariffs on US industrial goods, partly due to political delays linked to US import levies and geopolitical tensions such as the Greenland acquisition dispute.
 🔸 German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and other EU leaders urge a swift agreement to avoid further economic harm, especially to countries like Germany that would be most affected.

A clear, practical overview of documentary collections in trade finance, highlighting their role, common misunderstandings, the impact of digitalisation, and the operational discipline required under URC and EURC, based on insights from Lloyds Bank’s John Boran.

Insights from CRDB Bank on how regionalisation, technology, sustainability and partnerships are reshaping opportunities for women led suppliers across East Africa.

Insights from ICC Georgia on how digital trade, legal reform, and SME finance are shaping the Middle Corridor’s growth and competitiveness.

Documentary Collections remain one of the most widely used yet frequently misunderstood instruments in international trade. This joint ICC, BAFT and TTP publication provides a clear, practitioner‑led explanation of how Collections work, the roles of each party, and the operational, legal and risk considerations that shape their use. It outlines the fundamentals of D/P and D/A structures, the responsibilities of Remitting and Presenting Banks under URC 522, and the practical realities that exporters, importers and banks face when handling documents, managing disputes, and navigating compliance requirements.

The guide also examines the modern trajectory of Collections, including the impact of sanctions, financial crime controls, and the rapid shift towards digital documentation under eURC 1.1 and MLETR‑aligned frameworks. Through real‑world case studies, it demonstrates how digital bills of lading, digital promissory notes and interoperable platforms are already reducing end‑to‑end processing times from weeks to hours. The result is an authoritative, globally relevant reference for trade professionals seeking clarity, accuracy and practical insight.