Date: 18/06/2026
In August 2022, Komgo and the International Trade & Forfaiting Association (ITFA) published something that didn’t exist yet: a single-page map of the entire trade finance universe.
The Trade Finance Taxonomy was the first attempt to place every product, technique, instrument, and risk mitigation mechanism in trade finance on to one coherent diagram. Primary market, secondary market, funded and unfunded instruments, credit risk mitigation, supply chain finance; all of it, connected and contextualised in a way that anyone from a corporate treasurer to a structuring banker could read and navigate.
Four years on, that work has found its way into the Trade Finance Guide 2026, the definitive reference for trade finance professionals published jointly by ITFA and Trade & Treasury Payments (TTP). The Taxonomy is integrated directly into Chapter 3, which maps the full trade finance ecosystem for readers of the guide. It is described as “a holistic and exhaustive picture of how the different parts of trade interact, a valuable resource as trade becomes more complex.”
We think it is fair to say it has become a standard.
Why a taxonomy matters in 2026
The Trade Finance Guide 2026 starts from a simple observation: conflict, sanctions, tariffs, and shipping disruptions have exposed how fragile global commerce can be. In that context, trade finance has never been more necessary, or more complex to navigate.
Part of that complexity is structural. Trade finance vocabulary is inconsistent, product boundaries are blurry, and primary and secondary markets have historically operated in silos. The Taxonomy was designed to cut through that: by mapping the full ecosystem in one place, it helps practitioners identify connections they might otherwise miss and communicate more precisely with clients, counterparties, and regulators.
One concrete example: credit insurance, long misclassified as a trade finance product, is placed in its proper position within credit risk mitigation techniques. A small clarification with real implications for how institutions structure and report their exposures.
Komgo’s contribution, and Izabela’s
We are proud that the Taxonomy is recognised in the guide as a co-creation between ITFA and Komgo. It reflects a conviction we have held from the beginning: that Komgo’s role is not only to build and operate infrastructure, but to contribute to the knowledge and standards that make trade finance more accessible, more transparent, and more interoperable.
We're also proud to see Komgo's Izabela Czepirska credited as a co-author, a recognition of her work within ITFA that extends well beyond her role at Komgo.
A living reference
The Trade Finance Taxonomy is available in its original form at itfa.org. We encourage anyone working in trade finance, whether you are a bank structurer, a corporate treasurer, a technology provider, or a regulator, to use it as a reference. It was designed as a public resource, and that is what it remains.
Congratulations to Deepesh Patel, Sean Edwards, and the full teams at ITFA and Trade & Treasury Payments for producing a guide that the industrywill rely on for years to come.
The TradeFinance Guide 2026 is available at
https://tradetreasurypayments.com/publications/trade-finance-guide-2026
The TradeFinance Taxonomy, co-published by ITFA and Komgo in 2022, is available at
https://itfa.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Trade-Finance-Taxonomy.pdf
