Trade finance platforms are multiplying on shared standards, with 21 eBL systems approved by shipping's P&I clubs
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Ossiano Guides · Digital trade
A platform puts the buyer's approval, the trade document and the payment on one shared record. This guide names only systems that official or industry bodies list, and endorses none of them.
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01 · What a platform does
A platform puts the approval, the document and the payment on one record
A is a shared online system. The buyer, the seller and the finance provider all see the same invoice, the same approval and the same payment data. Each party acts on one record, in place of sending papers back and forth.
The clearest example is . Here a buyer offers to pay its sellers early, in return for a small discount. It typically runs on a technology platform that can link to the buyer's system, the software the buyer uses for purchasing, invoicing and payments, per the Global Supply Chain Finance Forum (GSCFF). The buyer approves each invoice, and the approved invoices are uploaded to the platform, the GSCFF says.
In dynamic discounting, no bank or finance provider puts up the money. The buyer pays from its own cash. A bank or finance provider may still run the platform or handle the payments, per the GSCFF. Our guide to dynamic discounting covers it in full.
Early payment offers are often written as an , such as 2/10 net 30. That means 2% off if paid within 10 days, or the full amount within 30 days. Using the standard formula, giving up 2% to be paid 20 days sooner works out to about 37.2% a year at a simple rate, or about 44.6% a year with compounding. These terms are illustrative and are not Ossiano pricing.
works on a platform too. The buyer sets up a program with one or more finance providers. Each supplier must first be brought on board, including checks, per the GSCFF. Both techniques sit within , and both are led by a large buyer, often called the . US accounting standards use the name for arrangements where a buyer confirms invoices to a finance provider. Our guide to payables finance explains the steps. Figure 1 follows one invoice through both programs.
Banks can also pay on matched data alone. A (BPO) is a bank's promise to pay another bank once the trade data matches. Under the ICC rules for BPOs, known as , it is an irrevocable and independent promise by the paying bank, per the ICC Digital Library. The match takes place on a (TMA), a central system that compares the banks' data and manages the workflow, per the same URBPO text.
Figure 1 · Interactive
Follow an invoice through two platform programs
Tap a program to see each step from invoice to early payment.
Source: Global Supply Chain Finance Forum, Standard Definitions for Techniques of Supply Chain Finance, dynamic discounting and payables finance pages.
02 · eBL systems
Shipping's P&I clubs have approved 21 eBL system providers
An , or eBL, is a bill of lading issued and passed on electronically. To use one, shippers and banks need a system that keeps one controlled record of it. Our guide to electronic bills of lading explains how the record stands for the goods.
Shipowners insure their liabilities to others through a . The International Group of P&I Clubs decides which eBL systems its members' cover accepts. The Group approved twelve electronic systems from February 20, 2010, per its notice of February 4, 2025.
From February 20, 2025, the process changed. Systems that meet the Group's two stated criteria are now "deemed approved," the same notice says. That means they count as approved without a separate review.
The Group's list of approved systems showed 21 providers on September 30, 2026. The Group says it is for members to choose the system that suits them. Figure 2 lists the providers in alphabetical order. Ossiano endorses none of them. Whether an eBL has legal force also depends on local law, covered in our guide to MLETR and digital trade law.
Figure 2 · Interactive
eBL systems approved by the International Group of P&I Clubs
Tap a name to open the Group's list. Order is alphabetical; inclusion is not an Ossiano endorsement.
Source: International Group of P&I Clubs, IG approved electronic bill of lading systems, accessed September 30, 2026. Listing does not imply endorsement by Ossiano.
03 · Standards
Common data fields let one platform read another's documents
Platforms only help if they can talk to each other. That ability is called . It depends on shared standards: agreed names and formats for each piece of data in a document.
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) built one such standard. Its Digital Standards Initiative launched the framework on April 24, 2024, after an 18-month study of all 36 key trade documents, per the ICC. It found that 21 of the 36 documents already have standard electronic versions.
Shipping has its own standard. The , a body that writes digital standards for container shipping, published an eBL standard. Nine member carriers committed on February 15, 2023 to 100% use of an eBL based on DCSA standards by 2030, per the DCSA.
Banking groups publish guidance as well. BAFT, an association of trade banks, lists its best practices for digital payment instruments (named DLPC) with an August 2020 date, per BAFT. The International Trade and Forfaiting Association (ITFA) publishes a handbook on digital negotiable instruments. These are electronic forms of paper payment promises, such as bills of exchange. The handbook is in its second edition, with a 2023 addendum, per ITFA.
04 · Public programs
Development banks and central banks build and test platform models
Public bodies have run platform programs of their own. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group, runs Global Trade Supplier Finance. It is a US$500 million program set up in 2010, per the IFC.
In July 2016, IFC announced a supplier finance partnership with KiK and PrimeRevenue under that program, starting in China. Suppliers that scored strongly on environmental and social performance got tiered pricing and lower costs, per the IFC press release.
Central banks test new designs too. The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) ran Project Dynamo through its Innovation Hub in Hong Kong, with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. Completed in 2023, it built a prototype to help small firms get finance. It used digital trade tokens on a public blockchain, a shared digital ledger, with an eBL as a trigger for payment, per the BIS.
05 · The prize
ADB expects full digitalization to cut trade costs by 8%
Traders want digital trade. Over 43% of respondents to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) trade finance gap survey ranked digitalization as their top priority, per ADB Brief No. 378 (December 2025).
The ADB expects full trade digitalization to cut trade costs by 8% on average. It could also raise global exports by close to US$900 billion, or 12.6%, the same brief says.
The DCSA has its own estimate for shipping. Moving from paper to electronic bills of lading could save US$6.5 billion in direct costs, per the DCSA. That is the DCSA's own figure.
Figure 3
What digitalization is worth, by the numbers
Each card shows one measure with its publisher and date.
Sources: Asian Development Bank, ADB Brief No. 378, December 2025; International Chamber of Commerce, Digital Standards Initiative, April 24, 2024.
06 · Ossiano view
Standards, more than any single platform, decide how far digital trade goes
OBSERVATION 01
Approval has become criteria-based
From February 20, 2025, eBL systems that meet the International Group's two criteria are deemed approved. The approved list stood at 21 providers on September 30, 2026.
OBSERVATION 02
Most documents already have a digital form
ICC found 21 of 36 key trade documents already have standard electronic versions. The remaining 15 set the agenda for the next round of standards work.
OBSERVATION 03
Public institutions are proving the models
IFC linked supplier finance pricing to environmental and social ratings in 2016, and the BIS tested an eBL as a payment trigger in Project Dynamo. Public pilots give private platforms tested templates.
Summary
Platforms work when they share one record and one set of data standards
A trade finance platform lets the buyer, seller and finance provider act on one shared record. Dynamic discounting typically runs on a platform linked to the buyer's ERP system, and approved invoices are uploaded to it. Under a BPO, a bank pays once a matching application confirms the trade data.
The International Group of P&I Clubs listed 21 approved eBL system providers on September 30, 2026. Since February 20, 2025, systems that meet its two criteria are deemed approved. ICC found 21 of 36 key trade documents already have standard electronic versions. The ADB expects full digitalization to cut trade costs by 8% on average.
Related guides: payables finance, dynamic discounting, electronic bills of lading, MLETR and digital trade law, data and AI in trade credit decisions and sustainability in trade finance. Instrument cards: dynamic discounting, payables finance, bank payment obligation (BPO) and open account. Every term is defined in the Trade Finance Glossary.
For questions on how these platforms and standards affect existing or planned trade finance programs, contact the Ossiano Research Desk.
Sources
- International Group of P&I Clubs, IG approved electronic bill of lading systems, undated; accessed September 30, 2026. Supports: 21 approved providers listed at the access date; members choose their system; Figure 2.
- International Group of P&I Clubs, Electronic bills of lading: notification of new process, February 4, 2025. Supports: twelve systems approved from February 20, 2010; deemed approval from February 20, 2025.
- Asian Development Bank, ADB Brief No. 378, ADB Global Trade Finance Gap Survey, December 2025. Supports: over 43% of respondents rank digitalization as top priority; 8% average trade cost reduction; exports up by close to US$900 billion (12.6%); Figure 3.
- Digital Container Shipping Association, DCSA's member carriers commit to a fully standardised electronic bill of lading by 2030, February 15, 2023. Supports: nine carriers' commitment to 100% eBL based on DCSA standards by 2030; US$6.5 billion DCSA savings estimate.
- Global Supply Chain Finance Forum, Dynamic Discounting, GSCFF technique page, October 31, 2024. Supports: platform linked to the buyer's ERP; invoice approval and upload; no third-party funding; Figure 1.
- Global Supply Chain Finance Forum, Payables Finance, GSCFF technique page, October 31, 2024. Supports: supplier on-boarding including KYC checks; Figure 1.
- International Chamber of Commerce, ICC Digital Standards Initiative launches complete framework for supply chain digitalisation, April 24, 2024. Supports: KTDDE launch after an 18-month study of 36 key trade documents; 21 of 36 with standard electronic versions; Figure 3.
- International Chamber of Commerce, URBPO rules text, ICC Digital Library, 2013. Supports: BPO definition and Transaction Matching Application (Article 3).
- BAFT (Bankers Association for Finance and Trade), Industry Definitions and Guidelines, August 2020. Supports: DLPC technical and business best practices, dated August 2020.
- International Trade and Forfaiting Association, A Summary of ITFA's Key Publications, November 2023. Supports: DNI Initiative Handbook, second edition with 2023 addendum.
- International Finance Corporation, IFC partnership with KiK for supplier financing, July 18, 2016. Supports: Global Trade Supplier Finance, US$500 million program set up in 2010; KiK and PrimeRevenue partnership starting in China; tiered pricing for strong environmental and social performance.
- Bank for International Settlements, BIS Innovation Hub, Project Dynamo, 2023. Supports: prototype for small-firm financing using digital trade tokens on a public blockchain, with an eBL as a payment trigger; completed 2023.
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