NatWest inks AI deal for trade finance

NatWest bank is using artificial intelligence (AI) software to modernise its trade finance processes and improve its identification of potential financial crime.

The bank is working with Cleareye.ai to enable the automation of checks on complex trade documents. The software will automatically check that trades are in accordance with the rules of the International Chamber of Commerce ICC rules and provide AI-driven Trade Based Money Laundering (TBML) checks.

Trade finance transactions involve large payments, often international, that traditionally require many participants with large volumes of manual checks of documentation required. Trade financing includes the tools, techniques and instruments that facilitate trade, and protect buyers and sellers from risks.

Michael Gilham, trade product lead, commercial and institutional at NatWest, said: “The technology will help its business customers trade in foreign markets with greater speed and certainty. It will also strengthen protection against fraud and financial crime by using innovative technology to enable us to provide better service to our customers.”

The bank said this is part of its “focus on building operational resilience, embracing advanced technologies and staying ahead of regulatory demands in the complex global trade environment”.

NatWest bank recently revealed that this year will see artificial intelligence (AI) become truly transformative for customers and staff, stating that AI is at the centre of its plans, with 2025 having seen the technology deployed across the company “at scale”.

Headline figures for 2025 saw the bank’s software engineers generate 35% of its code through AI software development tools, all 60,000 staff given access to AI productivity software, and thousands of human hours saved. Last year, the bank also embarked on a major collaboration with AI supplier OpenAI.

NatWest is not the first large UK bank to use Cleareye.ai for trade financing automation. In 2024, Lloyds Bank signed a deal with the firm to perform automated checks of digital and paper-based documentation in trade.

The use of AI in the trade financing operations at banks is an example of how deep the technology is now and how much further it can go. While chatbots serving customers attract the majority of headlines, there is a huge appetite for the technology across complex banking operations.

Also read: NatWest hails progress after £1.2bn spent on tech last year, but true AI transformation to come.

It is also an example of the areas where huge numbers of roles in banking could be lost or transformed through the adoption of AI.

A recent survey by Zopa and Juniper Research found that generation AI (GenAI) will save 187 million labour hours, mainly in back-office roles, and that 27,000 jobs could be displaced by 2030. 

For example, Commerzbank recently announced it will cut 3,000 jobs – around 8% of its workforce – as it increases AI investment, set at €600m over the next four years. The bank expects €500m in additional value to be added each year through the AI investments from 2030 onwards.

Banks are gaining huge benefits from AI today, with Lloyds Banking Group’s Financial institutions sentiment survey for 2025, finding that 59% of surveyed firms reported AI-driven productivity gains in the past 12 months, compared with 32% in the 2024 survey.

Banks also reported rising returns from AI in other areas. The survey found that 21% of respondents believe AI is directly driving business growth, compared with 8% in the survey a year ago.

Meanwhile, a third (33%) of respondents said AI is enhancing customer experiences, up from 14% in the previous survey. The same number said they have deeper customer insights through AI, compared with 18% in last year’s survey.