Miami – October 15, 2026 -- Fewer than half of corporate and transaction banking leaders (47%) say their digitization strategy is delivering expected results, even though 88% report that technology and digital acceleration are having a high impact on their organizations, according to CGI's 2026 Voice of Our Clients research.
CGI argues the gap stems from a lack of trusted, interoperable data rather than a lack of technology. Scanned PDFs remain digital copies of physical documents, so their contents still have to be extracted, re-entered into multiple systems and verified manually.
Repeated verification slows each hand-off in the trade chain
Banks, customs authorities and buyers each re-verify the same trade data when a shipment changes hands or a new party joins a transaction. CGI says this duplication slows processing, raises costs and creates friction across the ecosystem.
Its proposed alternative is "verify once, use many." Digital signatures, cryptographic technologies and supportive legal frameworks would let information be verified at its source and carried through the transaction life cycle. Verified details, such as an organization's identity or an employee's authority to sign an invoice, could then be reused by multiple parties.
vLEI aims to replace password-based identity checks
Many organizations still rely on usernames, passwords and one-time passcodes, which CGI describes as a model of assumed trust that leaves them exposed to fraud, compliance risks and delays. The legal entity identifier (LEI) offers a globally recognized way to verify an organization's identity. The verifiable LEI (vLEI) adds a standardized, cryptographically secure and automated check of both the organization and the authority of individuals acting for it.
Common data standards, not a single platform, target digital islands
CGI says disconnected platforms, such as a shipping company's system that cannot easily exchange data with a bank's, limit the value of digitization. It does not call for moving everyone onto one platform. It calls for common data standards, citing the International Chamber of Commerce's Digital Standards Initiative (ICC DSI) as one body promoting them. A digital invoice created in Brazil, for example, should be interpreted the same way by a financial institution in Singapore.
Four stakeholder groups face specific adoption tasks
CGI sets out actions for each group:
- Corporate leaders and boards: treat digital trade as a business transformation initiative, support the LEI and strengthen vendor onboarding with trusted digital identity.
- Banks and financial institutions: embed global data and identity standards into client and trade finance processes to cut manual intervention and improve compliance.
- Technology providers: build on open, interoperable standards rather than proprietary ecosystems.
- Governments and regulators: advance legal frameworks that recognize digital trade records and trusted digital identities.
The author will address the topic at the Sibos 2026 panel "From digital trade to trusted trade" in Miami.