From Paper to Algorithm: How Conpend Is Rewiring Trade Finance Compliance

In the arcane world of trade finance, paperwork and compliance checks have long been necessary evils. Banks facilitating international trade must vet mountains of documents – letters of credit, invoices, shipping documents – to prevent fraud, money laundering, or sanctions breaches. This manual process is labor-intensive and costly: a large trade finance bank might spend $25–42 million per year on compliance, sanctions screening and anti-money-laundering tasks, without that cost adding any new revenue. Now, fintech innovation is finally easing this burden. AI-driven automation is making inroads into trade finance compliance, and Amsterdam-based startup Conpend has emerged as a leading player.

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