Public guarantees backed efforts to expand trade finance in emerging markets and secure strategic commodity supplies. IFC and Citi’s facility of up to $2 billion uses risk sharing to release lending capacity, while Germany-backed financing supports contracted gas deliveries and UKEF plans broader access to exporter working capital.

Treasury developments focused on making cash available beyond conventional banking hours. Hong Kong advanced 24/7 interbank settlement of tokenised deposits within its EnsembleTX pilot, while HSBC and Uber tested weekend access to invested funds. Both address the timing constraints that can leave corporate liquidity unavailable when needed.

Read more on the week’s key developments:

1. IFC and Citi establish $2 billion emerging-market trade-finance facility

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Citi announced on 29 October a trade-finance facility of up to $2 billion targeting corporate and SME businesses across Africa, Asia and Latin America. IFC will provide up to $1 billion in guarantees, matched by Citi, with the facility expected to support more than 100 companies over three years. IFC’s guarantees will release Citi balance-sheet capacity for additional lending, including a commitment by Citi to deploy at least $500 million of its own trade financing to businesses in sectors with climate benefits, such as renewable energy and sustainable agriculture.

The agreement builds on a financing relationship dating to 2006, through which IFC and Citi have supported approximately $65 billion in emerging-market trade. In 2021, IFC documented a funded, equally shared risk-sharing facility of up to $1.2 billion with Citi. Unlike that arrangement, the latest guarantees aim to release Citi’s lending capacity without requiring IFC to advance an equivalent share of the financing.

2. HKMA enables 24/7 tokenised interbank settlement as Standard Chartered launches deposit service

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced on 2 November that its EnsembleTX controlled pilot now supports 24/7 interbank settlement of tokenised-deposit transactions in tokenised central bank money. Participation has expanded to 12 banks and 20 industry pioneers. Separately, Standard Chartered launched its Tokenised Deposits service for eligible Hong Kong corporate clients, with China AMC, Finloop and PantherTrade executing live tokenised-deposit and tokenised money-market fund settlement transactions using EnsembleTX.

When EnsembleTX began real-value transactions in November 2025, interbank settlement of tokenised deposits relied on Hong Kong’s HKD real-time gross settlement system. The upgrade adds settlement in tokenised central bank money outside conventional operating hours, reducing timing differences between tokenised asset transfers and the final interbank settlement leg. Standard Chartered had already introduced round-the-clock intragroup transfers with Ant International in December 2025. Separately, recognised dealers completed trial secondary-market transactions in tokenised Exchange Fund Bills under an HKMA initiative, which could improve secondary-market and repo trading efficiency.

3. Trafigura secures $1.5 billion German government-backed gas-supply financing

Trafigura signed a $1.5 billion five-year loan agreement on 29 October to support the supply of approximately 150 terawatt-hours of natural gas over five years to Germany’s state-owned SEFE (Securing Energy for Europe), formerly Gazprom Germania. The financing is partly backed by a German government guarantee under its Untied Loan Guarantee programme, administered through Euler Hermes. Nine banks arranged the facility, with KfW IPEX-Bank serving as facility agent and export credit agency coordinator. Trafigura will source the gas primarily from its global portfolio, with initial deliveries scheduled for 1 November.

Trafigura previously secured a $3 billion German government-backed gas-supply facility in 2022 and a $1.1 billion facility for critical metals in February 2026. The latest agreement continues Germany’s use of guarantees to mobilise commercial-bank financing for strategic commodity supplies.

4. JP Morgan launches receivables matching as Grimco reports less manual processing

JP Morgan Payments launched Receivables Matching on 2 November, automating reconciliation between incoming payments, remittance information and outstanding accounts receivable. Available to clients in the US and Canada through the bank’s Receivables Online suite, the solution combines configurable matching, exception management and reporting without requiring clients to replace existing systems.

US distributor Grimco reported a reduction of more than 60% in manual review time and approximately 95% fewer errors requiring manual intervention after implementing the service. Faster matching reduces the manual work required to identify which customer invoices incoming payments have settled.

5. Thunes and UnionPay raise instant payout limit to $10,000 for mainland China

Thunes and UnionPay International announced on 2 November that financial institutions, payment service providers and money-transfer operators using Thunes’ network can make instant cross-border consumer payouts of up to $10,000 per recipient cardholder per day to UnionPay cards at 79 major banks in mainland China. The direct connection serves corridors including Africa, Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand, Thailand and the US. Payments are routed through Thunes’ existing API connection to UnionPay’s card network.

Thunes established direct connectivity to UnionPay cards at the same 79 banks in January 2026. The November change raises the daily payout limit rather than extending bank coverage, allowing larger consumer transfers without splitting them across several days.

6. HSBC and Uber demonstrate 24/7 on-chain corporate liquidity and settlement

HSBC, Franklin Templeton, Tradeweb and Fireblocks announced on 30 October the completion of a corporate treasury pilot with Uber using the Canton Network. Uber used HSBC Tokenised Deposits to purchase Franklin Templeton tokenised money-market fund shares through delivery-versus-payment transactions on Tradeweb. The pilot also demonstrated the ability to liquidate part of Uber’s holdings, including over weekends, providing access to invested liquidity outside conventional market hours.

Conventional money-market funds are subject to dealing cut-offs and settlement windows, requiring companies with weekend payment obligations to maintain some cash outside their investments. Access to invested liquidity outside market hours could reduce the need for those cash buffers while keeping funds invested until payment obligations arise.

7. UKEF plans wider exporter finance access as government directs higher Ukraine cover

UK Export Finance (UKEF) announced on 28 October plans to widen eligibility for its General Export Facility (GEF), including to more firms starting to export, and increase the amount participating lenders may approve without transaction-specific UKEF clearance from GBP 10 million ($13.4 million) to GBP 15 million ($20.1 million). Implementation with lenders remains pending. Separately, the government directed an increase in UKEF’s Ukraine country cover limit from GBP 3.5 billion ($4.7 billion) to GBP 6.5 billion ($8.7 billion), supporting further exports and reconstruction-related projects.

Wider GEF eligibility would bring more exporters within reach of guaranteed working-capital loans and contract bonds. The Ukraine decision involves exceptional financial risks. UKEF’s accounting officer judged the additional exposure outside normal underwriting criteria and could not establish value for money, prompting a ministerial direction. The accounting officer’s letter states that HM Treasury consent is required before the direction can be implemented and additional support provided.

8. BPI and FAST Logistics expand digital supplier financing in the Philippines

The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) and FAST Logistics Group announced a supplier-financing partnership on 30 October, giving FAST’s suppliers access to early payment against approved invoices through BPI’s Digital Supply Chain Finance programme. Corporate buyers upload approved invoices, after which eligible suppliers select those they wish to finance before maturity, with approved funds potentially credited on the same day. The arrangement builds on more than two decades of banking relations between BPI and FAST, a major Philippine logistics provider.

BPI launched the programme in 2024 and reported more than 12 corporate clients and over 500 suppliers by August 2026, with transaction values more than tripling in 2025. FAST adds another corporate buyer whose approved invoices can support early payment to suppliers.

9. Pakistan mandates centralised SME financing applications through SMEConnect

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announced SMEConnect on 29 October as a centralised financing application portal, mandatory for all SME financing applications from 1 November. Applications are verified and forwarded to the selected bank or development finance institution (DFI).

Banks must guide branch applicants and users of existing bank portals to SMEConnect, replacing the requirement under prudential regulation R-6 for each bank or DFI to offer its own digital SME finance application channel. SMEConnect standardises intake, while individual banks and DFIs retain responsibility for credit assessment and approval.

10. Jiko and BlackRock bring direct Treasury bill ownership to institutional cash management

Jiko announced on 28 October that its direct US Treasury bill investment service would become accessible through BlackRock Cachematrix, an institutional cash-management portal serving approximately 7,000 accounts. The planned connection would allow treasury teams to buy and hold Treasury bills directly within an existing cash-investment workflow. Jiko’s underlying platform already automates bill selection and reinvestment, but the announcement does not give a launch date for access through Cachematrix.

The arrangement introduces direct T-bill ownership into a platform already used by institutional treasurers for short-term cash investments. Directly held Treasury bills are securities, are not FDIC-insured and may lose value. Jiko’s disclosures specify that 24/7 real-time settlement applies to JikoNet, USDC and debit-card payments, while ACH and wire transfers retain standard banking settlement windows.