Trade finance technology (abbreviated TradeTech, tradetech, or sometimes Trade Tech) refers to the use of technology, innovation, and software to support and digitally transform the trade finance industry. TradeTech can be seen as a subcategory under FinTech. As digital information becomes more readily accessible, convenient, and available, the trade finance industry is being gradually modernised and digitally transformed. TradeTech puts a particular emphasis on the application of technology and software to modernise trade finance. Definition TradeTech is the technology, software, and innovation that aims to enhance traditional financial methods in international trade and that is applied in making available trade finance and related services. TradeTech seeks to reduce transaction costs for businesses, lower compliance costs, and increase efficiency and transparency for firms, regulators and consumers. The application of TradeTech results in new business models, applications, processes or products with an associated material effect on trade finance markets and institutions. This is achieved in several ways, such as introducing automation, artificial intelligence (AI), or blockchain networks to existing processes. Origins The term TradeTech was first officially established and recognised by the World Economic Forum in a 2018 white paper, highlighting the importance of technologies such as internet of things (IoT), blockchain, and artificial intelligence to facilitate international trade and support trade finance. Wolfgang Lehmacher co-authored the report. In the private sector, the emergence of private companies that typically use the cloud through software as a service to provide applications is accelerating the availability of TradeTech applications. Companies are often startups founded to modernise the traditionally conservative trade finance market. The emergence of TradeTech can be linked to a broader trend of making international trade more efficient by removing barriers. This ongoing modernisation of trade began with the invention of shipping containers in the mid-twentieth century, which largely solved the issue of reliability and safety in international trade and also greatly reduced the cost of loading and transportation. High transaction and financing costs can create a high barrier to cross border trade with high trade costs effectively nullifying comparative advantages as they render exports uncompetitive. As such, many TradeTech initiatives seek to reduce administrative and bureaucratic costs associated with financing the transporting of goods across a border. This often includes applying technology to global supply chain finance, logistics, and to improve connectivity between trading partners. In the 1980s, some trade finance processes were digitised, such as with the introduction of the electronic