Vietnam Banks Association officially launches the Trade Finance Registry project

The meeting was chaired by Dr. Nguyễn Quốc Hùng, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of the Vietnam Banks Association. Participants also included Mr. James Attwood, Programme Lead for Growth Gateway Asia (UK Government); representatives from eight member banks of the Working Group, namely Agribank, MB Bank, Vietcombank, VietinBank, BIDV, Techcombank, VPBank, and Standard Chartered; the consulting firm Boston Consulting Group; as well as international and domestic technology partners including Traydstream, MonetaGo, FPT, Sumsub, and Lloyd's List Intelligence.

The USD 100 Billion Challenge and the Role of the Trade Finance Registry (TFR)

In his opening remarks, Mr. James Attwood – Programme Lead for Growth Gateway Asia (UK Government) – noted that Vietnam is one of the fastest-growing economies with a strong export orientation; however, it is still facing an estimated trade finance gap of around USD 100 billion. According to Attwood, the challenge lies not only in mobilizing additional capital, but also in enhancing transparency, strengthening market confidence, and building a data infrastructure that enables effective connectivity among stakeholders.

In this context, the Trade Finance Registry (TFR) is considered a key infrastructure solution, enabling the establishment of a centralized database for trade finance transactions. This helps prevent duplicate financing among banks, mitigate risks related to document and invoice fraud, and improve access to finance for businesses—particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which account for approximately 97% of all enterprises in Vietnam but continue to face significant barriers in accessing trade finance.

Furthermore, this initiative aligns with the development of international financial centers in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang, thereby contributing to attracting international capital flows and enhancing Vietnam’s position in the global value chain.

Speaking at the event, Mr. Andika Enha, a representative of BCG, stated that TFR is not merely a technology platform but a component of the national digital trade infrastructure. International experience shows that implementing TFR can have a significant impact on boosting trade credit growth, managing risks, and improving coordination among participants in the trade finance ecosystem.

Legal Framework – The Bottleneck That Needs Priority Resolution

Speaking at the meeting, Dr. Nguyễn Quốc Hùng stated that VNBA has established a Task Force with four specialized teams: the general management team, the trade finance operations team, the legal and compliance team, and the information technology team. This structure is designed to ensure the project is implemented in a coordinated manner, meeting practical business requirements while remaining consistent with the current legal framework and the technological capabilities of credit institutions.

One of the core objectives is to build a data-sharing platform among credit institutions, enhancing the quality of credit assessment and risk management in the context of enterprises dealing with multiple banks simultaneously. In particular, TFR is also expected to promote forfaiting activities—a sector with significant growth potential, as currently only about 16 credit institutions participate. Additionally, the transparent data ecosystem created by TFR will open opportunities to attract international financial institutions to support supply chain financing through the Vietnamese banking system.

A key topic of discussion was the legal framework for operating the platform, as many aspects need to be clarified and standardized, including: the mechanism for data connection with customs and tax authorities; regulations on data sharing and utilization among credit institutions; and requirements for information security and confidentiality.

Dr. Nguyễn Quốc Hùng noted that VNBA has submitted recommendations to the State Bank of Vietnam and relevant agencies to support the improvement of policies and regulations. During the pilot phase, legal and technological issues will be addressed simultaneously to ensure the system is ready for official deployment. He urged member banks to actively provide feedback based on operational experience, focusing on system integration capabilities, data connection and sharing solutions, and legal obstacles that need to be resolved.

Dr. Nguyễn Quốc Hùng expressed his expectation that, with close coordination among member banks, BCG as the advisory unit, and technology partners, the TFR project will provide an important foundation for digital transformation in trade finance, contributing to enhancing the competitiveness of the Vietnamese banking system amid increasingly deepening international integration.

Training and Practical Testing with Technology Partners

Following the internal discussion on the implementation model, the meeting devoted most of the time to demo sessions and hands-on testing of the pilot program by each technology partner.

During the session, a representative from Traydstream (UK) introduced the TradeStream platform—a solution for digitizing and automating trade finance processes that has already been deployed in 68 markets, serving over 45 global clients, including major banks such as Citi, Deutsche Bank, and SMBC. In Vietnam, the platform has also been present and operational for several years.

The TradeStream platform is designed as an integrated system with four main modules: TradeCheck (automated document processing and verification), TradeGuard (compliance and risk management), TradeConnect (ecosystem participant connectivity), and Trade Analytics (transaction data analysis to support decision-making). These functionalities help shorten transaction processing times, reduce operational and fraud risks, optimize banks’ balance sheets, and increase revenue from trade finance. The Traydstream representative also shared the successful implementation experience of the TFR model in the UAE (in collaboration with partner Haifin), where the system has proven effective in reducing fraud, accelerating transaction processing, and enhancing data sharing among participants.

Additionally, SumSub showcased AI-driven solutions focused on corporate identity verification, document fraud detection (including deepfake), and real-time transaction monitoring. Lloyd’s List Intelligence presented maritime and logistics data analytics solutions, enabling verification of cargo shipping routes, assessment of partner risks, and detection of trade-based money laundering (TBML) indicators.

In the afternoon session, MonetaGo—an organization with experience implementing duplicate financing prevention systems in multiple international markets—collaborated with FPT to present and pilot their solution with participating banks. FPT’s involvement as a domestic technology partner highlights the approach of combining local and international expertise in developing the TFR infrastructure in Vietnam.

BCG closed the session by reviewing the pilot test results and outlining the next steps. Looking ahead, discussions will focus on finalizing the TFR operational model in Vietnam, defining coordination between banks and regulators, and mapping out a clear implementation roadmap.