The complexity and cost of international trade was already trending higher before the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Looking ahead, however, it will be tighter regulatory compliance, rather than economics or geopolitics, that adds further cost pressures, squeezing out some players but also creating opportunities for new technology to help mitigate the impact of such change.
The need for tighter regulatory compliance is not in question, but to avoid negative side-effects, such compliance needs to be accompanied by a transformation of the way trade finance is conducted. It’s therefore reassuring to know that this transformation is already underway, driven by cutting-edge trade technology (tradetech), bringing new players and fresh liquidity to the sector. This is a trend that’s set to accelerate discernibly in the coming years.
