FCI partners with MonetaGo to fight invoice finance fraud
Registries, which use technology to spot when single trades are being used to request financing multiple times, have been hailed by industry groups as a powerful weapon in the fight against fraud.
Industry association FCI has signed a partnership with technology firm MonetaGo, with the duo aiming to tackle fraud in the receivables finance and factoring market by expanding the use of invoice registry tools, GTR can reveal.
Registries, which use technology to spot when single trades are being used to request financing multiple times, have been hailed by industry groups as a powerful weapon in the fight against fraud.
The partnership – the first such agreement between FCI and a technology provider – aims to grow the use of registries in both emerging and developed markets, with an initial focus on Africa, the Middle East and Central and Eastern Europe. Further expansion is planned for 2025.
FCI secretary general Neal Harm says the collaboration aims to provide the association’s network with “access to cutting-edge fraud prevention tools”.
“A global invoice registry system is critical to ensuring safe, interoperable solutions across markets, enabling trade practitioners to mitigate fraud risks and unlock liquidity,” he says.
“This partnership with MonetaGo represents a significant step forward for FCI as we expand our offering to support our members in reducing risks and enhancing efficiency in factoring and trade finance.”
Neil Shonhard, chief executive of MonetaGo, says the partnership “underscores our commitment to strengthening the security and accessibility of factoring and trade finance”.
“MonetaGo has established the global standard for combating fraud in trade and supply chain finance, promoting trust and transparency among financiers and non-bank lenders alike,” he says. “We look forward to driving meaningful advancements for trade practitioners on a global scale.”
Currently, invoice registry initiatives are underway in a handful of markets, including Italy, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, Singapore and the UAE.
But industry-wide adoption remains limited, and industry groups have raised concerns that developing registries at national level – particularly if each has its own data standards or security protocols – limits their effectiveness at tackling fraud in cross-border transactions.
Registries “must be interoperable across markets and with other IT systems due to the cross-border nature of international trade”, FCI and MonetaGo say in a joint announcement seen by GTR.
MonetaGo’s registry service was developed in partnership with Swift and is based on ISO 20022 standards and reference data models developed by the UN Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business.
The partnership will focus on cross-border document checks, and the duo plan to collaborate with regulators and multilateral development banks to encourage wider industry support.
Reducing the likelihood of multiple financing fraud could also widen access to trade finance facilities, they say, particularly for smaller businesses that are often perceived as higher-risk.
