ITFA

What ITFA does

ITFA (The International Trade and Forfaiting Association), founded in 1999 and headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland, is the worldwide non-profit trade association for institutions engaged in global trade, forfaiting, supply chain and receivables financing. The association serves approximately 400 member institutions — including commercial and investment banks, insurance underwriters and brokers, fintechs, law firms, consultancies and development finance institutions — across more than 60 countries, organised through 11 regional committees spanning Africa, the Americas, ANZ, Central/Eastern Europe, Germany, Latin America, the Middle East, North East Asia, Northern Europe, South East Asia, Southern Europe and Switzerland. Its remit covers standards-setting (URF800, URTEPO), documentation templates (Master Risk Participation Agreement, ITFA MARA, Trade Credit Insurance Standard Policy Wording), publications (Trade Finance Taxonomy, Guide to Trade Finance, whitepapers on sustainable trade finance and African trade), and the operation of working groups and coalitions such as ITFIE and the TF COP multi-stakeholder coalition targeting the SME trade finance gap.

The association's core technology agenda is centred on the Digital Negotiable Instruments (DNI) Initiative, launched in 2019, which uses distributed ledger technology, electronic signatures and the ITFA ePayment Undertaking (ePU) framework — designed as a functional equivalent under the English Bills of Exchange Act 1882 — to digitise bills of exchange and promissory notes, alongside the URTEPO rules for transfer of electronic payment obligations published jointly with Komgo. Additional technology initiatives include the Trade Finance Distribution (TFD) Initiative for securitisation and non-bank liquidity, the Financial Crime Compliance (FCC) Initiative addressing fraud and AML, and a Tokenisation Strategies working group covering digital asset infrastructure connecting legal rights, settlement and investor access.

ITFA's business model is subscription-based membership plus event and content monetisation. Annual institutional membership is priced at €1,500 for Standard and €2,500 for Group membership (covering all subsidiaries); educational seminars are priced at €250 per attendee, with the 52nd Annual International Trade and Forfaiting Conference in Split, Croatia (September 2026) and regional committee events serving as additional revenue drivers alongside Gold and Silver sponsorship tiers. Distribution occurs through the ITFA website, member portal (members.itfa.org), LinkedIn presence, monthly ITFA Muse newsletter, regional committee networks and partnerships with trade media such as Global Trade Review and Trade Finance Global, with governance provided by an elected Board of Executive Members drawn from major member institutions.

Name

ITFA

Legal name

ITFA – International Trade and Forfaiting Association

Website

https://itfa.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ITFA, founded in 1999 and headquartered in Zürich, is a non-profit global trade association serving roughly 400 member institutions across 60+ countries engaged in trade, forfaiting, supply chain and receivables financing. It sets industry standards (URF800, URTEPO), publishes taxonomies and whitepapers, runs 11 regional committees and convenes the flagship Annual International Trade and Forfaiting Conference.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Trade Association Services

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Export Credit Agencies (ECAs) & Trade Finance Institutions (BPADACAF)

Keywords

• Trade finance association
• Forfaiting industry standards
• Supply chain finance
• Receivables financing
• Trade finance documentation

Headquarters

HQ city

Zürich

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Primary revenue stream from annual membership fees charged to financial institutions, insurance companies, fintechs, law firms, and other trade finance participants. Standard membership at €1,500 per institution annually, with group membership at €2,500 covering all subsidiaries.
2. Conference and Event Revenue: Revenue generated from the Annual International Trade and Forfaiting Conference and regional events. Discounted pricing for members creates membership value and drives attendance revenue.
3. Educational Seminars and Training: Revenue from educational seminars including the one-day Trade Finance seminar (€250 per attendee). Training partnerships with universities and professional development programmes.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

ITFA is the worldwide trade association for companies, financial institutions, and intermediaries engaged in global trade, forfaiting, supply chain, and receivables financing. Its core offering is institutional membership providing access to a global network of circa 400 member institutions across 60+ countries, plus industry standards (URF800, URTEPO), documentation templates, publications, an annual conference, regional committee events, and educational seminars for the trade finance community.

Product overview

ITFA (International Trade and Forfaiting Association) is the worldwide trade association for companies, financial institutions and intermediaries engaged in global trade, forfaiting, supply chain and receivables financing. Founded in 1999, ITFA is not a commercial software product company but rather an industry body providing standards, publications, education, and networking. Its core offerings include industry standards such as the Uniform Rules for Forfaiting (URF800) and Uniform Rules for Transferable Electronic Payment Obligations (URTEPO), documentation templates including the Master Risk Participation Agreement and ITFA MARA, and publications like the Trade Finance Taxonomy, Guide to Trade Finance, and various whitepapers. ITFA also runs technology initiatives including the DNI Initiative for digital negotiable instruments, TFD Initiative for trade finance distribution, FCC Initiative for financial crime compliance, and Tokenisation Strategies. The association facilitates the ITFIE working group for investment ecosystem development and TF COP coalition for SME financing gap elimination. ITFA provides education through its Emerging Leaders program with the Martin Ashurst Mentoring Scheme, and hosts the Annual International Trade and Forfaiting Conference plus regional events across 11 geographic committees.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ITFA Institutional Membership
• Annual International Trade and Forfaiting Conference
• Educational Seminars and Training
• Certificate in Trade Finance Customer Service
• Uniform Rules for Forfaiting (URF800)
• Uniform Rules for Transferable Electronic Payment Obligations (URTEPO)
• Master Risk Participation Agreement
• ITFA Master Accounts Receivable Assignment Agreement (ITFA MARA)
• Trade Credit Insurance Standard Policy Wording
• Trade Finance Taxonomy
• Guide to Trade Finance
• ITFA Sponsorship Packages (Gold & Silver)

Quantifiable outcome

• 400 member institutions across 60+ countries
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• AfreximBankcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAfrican Export-Import Bank partnered with ITFA as an associate organisation, supporting the African Regional Committee and trade finance activities in Africa. AfreximBank contributes to ITFA's efforts in addressing the African trade finance gap.
• BAFT (Bankers Association for Finance and Trade)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBAFT is an associate organisation of ITFA and co-founder of TF COP coalition. BAFT collaborates on regulatory advocacy, market practice standards, and the development of industry documentation including Master Risk Participation Agreement.
• FCI (Factors Chain International)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFCI is an associate organisation of ITFA and co-founder of TF COP coalition. Collaboration on standards for supply chain finance, receivables finance, and factoring across the trade finance ecosystem.
• ICC (International Chamber of Commerce)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerICC is an associate organisation of ITFA. Collaboration on digital trade settlement, URF development, and standard definitions for supply chain finance. ITFA helped draft Standard Definitions published jointly by ICC, FCI, BAFT, EBA and ITFA.
• ICISA (International Credit Insurance & Surety Association)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerICISA is an associate organisation of ITFA and co-founder of TF COP coalition. Collaboration on insurance standards, regulatory advocacy, and market practice for credit insurance in trade finance.
• Berne Union (International Union of Credit and Investment Insurers)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBerne Union is an associate organisation of ITFA and co-founder of TF COP coalition. Collaboration on export credit insurance, political risk insurance, and investment insurance standards.
• KomgocoreTechnology or IntegrationITFA partnered with Komgo on the Trade Finance Taxonomy (2022), jointly published with the Komgo Secondary Market Workstream. Also jointly published 'Trade Asset Distribution: A Market at an Inflection Point' report (2026) exploring trade asset distribution and Basel IV impact.
• Trade Finance GlobalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on the Guide to Trade Finance published in September 2020. Trade Finance Global serves as media partner for taxonomy publication and industry education initiatives.
• The London Institute of Banking & Finance (LIBF)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociate organisation providing educational services. LIBF collaborates on trade finance education and professional development programmes for ITFA members.
• ISCTE Business School (IBS)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociate organisation. Partnership agreement for knowledge sharing through collaboration with colleges and universities for trade finance education.
• CUNEFminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociate organisation. CUNEF delivers targeted presentations to students on trade finance topics through university partnerships.
• African Trade & Investment Development Insurance (ATIDI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociate organisation of ITFA. ATIDI supports African regional trade and investment development insurance activities and participates in TF COP.
• Centre for Applied Sustainable Transition Law (CASTL)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociate organisation of ITFA focused on sustainable transition law, supporting ITFA's ESG committee initiatives.
• European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerITFA works with EBRD on regulatory advocacy and hosted the TF COP Task Force Open Meeting. EBRD participates in TF COP as a public sector partner. Collaboration on SME trade finance gap solutions.
• TF COP Coalition PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTF COP is a coalition of 5 industry bodies (BAFT, Berne Union, FCI, ICISA, ITFA) plus public sector entities (African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, IFC, EBRD, MIGA, etc.) and private sector companies working to eliminate the SME financing gap.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• BAFT - Bankers Association for Finance and Trade: Global trade association for transaction banking and trade finance, co-founder with ITFA of the TF COP coalition and co-author of the Master Risk Participation Agreement. Most directly comparable peer given overlapping membership, advocacy, and standards remit.
• FCI - Factors Chain International: Global factoring and receivables finance association, co-founder of TF COP with ITFA. Directly comparable as a membership association serving receivables financing, supply chain finance, and open account trade - the same corridors ITFA covers.
• Berne Union (International Union of Credit and Investment Insurers): Global association for export credit and investment insurance agencies, co-founder of TF COP with ITFA. Directly comparable as a peer membership body addressing the insurance side of the same trade finance transactions ITFA covers.
• ICISA - International Credit Insurance & Surety Association: Trade association for the commercial credit insurance industry, co-founder of TF COP. Directly comparable to ITFA on the credit insurance/political risk side, with overlapping membership (e.g., Liberty Specialty Markets, Swiss Re).

Broad incumbents

• ICC - International Chamber of Commerce: Broader international business body that publishes URC 522 (Uniform Rules for Collections) and jointly publishes trade finance Standard Definitions with ITFA, BAFT, FCI, and EBA. Overlaps ITFA's standards-setting role but at much larger scale and remit.

Emerging players

• IIBLP - Institute of International Banking Law & Practice: Specialised institute focused on international banking law and practice, including letters of credit and demand guarantees. Comparable to ITFA on the legal standards side (URDG, ISP98), though narrower in remit.

Others

• Global Trade Review (GTR): Leading trade finance media and events business that is an editorial partner of ITFA. Comparable as an ecosystem participant serving the same trade finance community, though operating as a media business rather than an association.
• Trade Finance Global (TFG): Trade finance media, education, and events platform that co-produced the ITFA Guide to Trade Finance in 2020. Comparable as an ecosystem participant serving trade finance professionals with content and events.
• Loan Syndications and Trading Association (LSTA): US trade association for the syndicated loan market, with parallels to ITFA in secondary market distribution, risk participation, and standard documentation. Operates in a related but distinct asset class (syndicated loans vs trade assets).
• European Banking Authority (EBA): EU regulatory body that co-publishes Standard Definitions for Supply Chain Finance with ITFA, BAFT, FCI, ICC. Comparable as an ecosystem participant setting standards and rules that intersect with ITFA's advocacy and documentation remit.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks2 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/international-forfaiting-association
• Xx.com/itfaworldwide

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ITFA