Trade Documents

Trade documents — such as invoices, bills of lading, certificates of origin, and transport documents — are essential in global trade. Today, these are often exchanged as paper or PDF-based documents, leading to manual processes, delays, and limited transparency. A new approach is emerging: transforming trade documents into verifiable, machine-readable data. Global initiatives such as UN/CEFACT — through the United Nations Verifiable Trade Documents (UN VTD) initiative — are defining standardized models for digital, interoperable trade documents. Verifiable credentials and business wallets enable organizations to issue, share, and verify these documents in a machine-readable, automated, and verifiable way — improving efficiency, trust, and compliance across supply chains. For organizations, this reduces administrative burden and speeds up processes. For authorities and partners, it enables better visibility, verification, and enforcement.