U.S. Bank has completed its first fully digital trade finance transaction, as financial institutions move away from paper-based processes in international trade.

The Minneapolis-based bank is the first American lender to execute a transaction using WaveBL, a blockchain platform that enables encrypted document transfers between trading partners and their financial institutions. 

“Our clients are looking for smarter, more efficient ways to manage their import and export activities,” said Christine Bravo, senior vice president at U.S. Bank. “This fully digital process is a step toward delivering the speed, transparency and reliability businesses need in today’s trade environment.”

The transaction involved US Bank serving as the presenting bank for a large publicly traded American exporter, with the container shipping company MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company issuing the electronic bill of lading (eBL). The process reduced what would typically take several days for physical document courier services to minutes, according to the bank.

The industry is under pressure to digitise operations: the Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA), which represents nine of the world’s ten largest container lines, has set a target of issuing 100% eBLs by 2030.

“We’re excited to see such established institutions adopting WaveBL’s digital platform,” said Ofer Ein Bar, vice president of financial institutions at WaveBL. “Having such partners brings us closer to achieving our mission to provide practical solutions that streamline trade finance transactions.”

Traditional paper-based processes have been particularly vulnerable to disruption, with courier delays, document losses, and storage costs creating significant inefficiencies for international traders. Nonetheless, trade finance has remained heavily paper-dependent despite technological advances in other areas of banking.