By: Scott Sanchon, Trade Treasury Payments

Open account trade accounts for 80% of global trade, but managing payment risk and cross-border transactions has never been more complex. Financial institutions are now seeking frameworks that offer predictability and legal clarity. 
In May 2026, FCI, the global representative body for factoring and financing of open account domestic and international trade receivables, published an executive brief explaining how its cross-border trade finance framework works and ultimately addresses challenges in the current economic uncertainty. 

The UK has signed a major trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), becoming the first G7 country to secure a trade deal with the bloc. The government says the agreement could add £3.7 billion to the UK economy every year in the long term and increase annual wages by £1.9 billion. The GCC includes Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman. According to the UK government, the agreement will remove around £580 million in tariffs on UK exports each year once fully implemented, with £360 million of those tariffs removed immediately when the deal comes into force.

On 15 May, Deputy Minister Phan Thi Thang of Vietnam and Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Mnatsakan Safaryan co-chaired the plenary session of the second meeting of the Vietnam-Armenia Intergovernmental Committee on Economic, Trade, and Scientific-Technical Cooperation in Armenia. This session is a significant step forward in deepening bilateral relations across multiple sectors. This second session took place nine years after the inaugural meeting in 2017. Both sides recognised the session’s critical role in unlocking cooperation opportunities in trade, investment, economy, construction, healthcare, and other fields of mutual interest.

By: Lewis Sun, Global Head of Digital Currencies, Corporate and Institutional Banking, HSBC.
For years, the debate around digital currencies has centred on which model – be it crypto, stablecoins, tokenised deposits, or CBDCs – will “win”. Unfortunately, that framing misses the point. Digital money is not any one single thing. It is a set of instruments that each serves a different purpose, relies on different governance models, and bears a number of different characteristics. The focus, therefore, should be on what sits behind the value.

The UK government has fined Deutsche Bank’s London branch £165,000 after it processed payments linked to a Russian company owned by a sanctioned entity. The penalty was issued by the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), the Treasury body responsible for enforcing UK financial sanctions. The case relates to two payments made in June and July 2022 worth a combined £635,618.75. The payments were sent to Okko LLC, a Russian streaming platform that had recently come under the ownership of JSC New Opportunities, a company sanctioned by the UK over its links to Russia.

Qivalis, the ING-backed consortium developing Europe’s first regulated euro-denominated stablecoin, has announced the addition of 25 new banks to its membership, bringing the total to 37. This expansion widens the stablecoin’s reach for clients in euros, marking an important step toward a trusted digital payment standard in Europe. Geert Wijnhoven, CTO of ING Wholesale Banking, said, “The real value of this initiative is not the technology itself, but what it enables.” “With over 25 additional banks joining, Qivalis is evolving into a genuinely shared European effort – creating common infrastructure that empowers clients to move value instantly, automate processes and operate seamlessly across borders in a more efficient way.”

Get ready for the Digital Trade Tunisia Series, produced in partnership with International Chamber of Commerce DSI and ICC-Tunisia.

Featuring exclusive interviews with Pamela Mar (ICC DSI), sihem sahli (EBRD Trade Facilitation Programme), Khelil Chaibi (ICC Tunisia), Catherine Bridge Zoller (EBRD), Luca Castellani (EBRD), SONIA BELHAJ (BH Bank), Lamia Sayari Riabi CDCS(Attijari bank Tunisie), Xavier Collignon (CMA CGM Tunisia), and Dr. Hanane Becha (UNECE-UN/CEFACT), the series explores why Tunisia is a hub for EU‑centric and multimodal trade, legal reforms around Electronic Transferable Records (ETRs) and bills of lading, EBRD’s support for digital trade across North Africa, adoption of UN/CEFACT standards linked to local platforms like TUNEPS, and capacity building through the TTP–EBRD TFP educational partnership.

Hosted by Deepesh Patel, Editor in Chief at Trade Treasury Payments (TTP), full coverage and interviews coming soon!

The Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (K-Sure) announced on May 18 the launch of a significant trade finance program in collaboration with Hana Bank and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, aimed at bolstering South Korea’s shipbuilding sector.

Jang Young-jin, CEO of K-Sure, said, “This financing support program is expected to help revitalise the overall shipbuilding industry. We will keep working to expand cooperative trade finance programs that strengthen Korea’s industrial ecosystem and supply chains.”

Reports Devanshee Dave, from Trade Treasury Payments (TTP)

🔸Capital4Trade and Tech Cargo executed a trade finance transaction using WaveBL's electronic Bill of Lading, integrating digital documentation, IoT cargo monitoring, and decentralised finance liquidity.
 🔸 The shipment involved frozen food from Valencia, Spain, to Miami, supporting a U.S.-based SME trader facing a working capital gap due to a mismatch between trade terms (FOB purchase vs DDP sale).
 🔸 The financing structure was secured by overcollateralised inventory and trade credit insurance, with freight forwarders acting as collateral managers to provide operational visibility during transit.
 🔸 WaveBL’s platform enabled secure, real-time digital transfer of the Bill of Lading, reducing documentary friction and ensuring payment certainty for seller and funder.
 🔸 IoT devices monitored geolocation, cold chain conditions, container movement, and delivery verification, triggering payment workflows upon confirmed delivery.
 🔸 Part of the liquidity originated from decentralised finance, with payment orchestration via RalioPay combining fiat and digital asset rails, demonstrating integration of programmable finance with real-world trade.

🔸 Financely announced the launch of its Real World Asset (RWA) Tokenisation Readiness Desk, a specialist advisory service for asset originators, project sponsors, borrowers, and operators preparing structured finance transactions for tokenised capital channels.
 🔸 The desk assists in transforming raw transaction files into lender-ready and investor-reviewable packages, covering transaction screening, KYT review, collateral analysis, repayment mapping, financial model preparation, and data-room organisation.
 🔸 The service prioritises trade finance, solar project finance gap funding, private credit files, receivables-backed structures, and asset-backed note programs.
 🔸 Financely supports sponsors with bankable project documentation, lender due diligence files, capital stack planning, and structured trade finance advisory for transactions backed by purchase orders, contracts, receivables, and other enforceable assets.
 🔸 The RWA Tokenisation Readiness Desk is available to sponsors preparing files for private credit funds, digital asset capital allocators, family offices, tokenised fund platforms, and regulated distribution partners.

A detailed look at ICC DSI’s progress at five years, covering global legal reform, standards alignment, digital trust and the critical next phase of engaging ERP and IT infrastructure providers to build a scalable, interoperable digital trade ecosystem.

Insights from JP Morgan’s Natasha Condon on how technology, shared data and industry collaboration can reduce barriers for women owned businesses and improve access to trade finance.

A practical, expert‑led guide to Documentary Collections, explaining URC 522, D/P and D/A structures, bank roles, common disputes, compliance risks and the digitalisation of Collections under eURC 1.1 and MLETR.