Lloyds, BRAC Bank Complete Fully Digital Trade Deal
A ready-made garment shipment from Bangladesh to UK retailer Matalan used electronic trade documents end to end.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Fashion
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Lloyds, BRAC Bank and Enigio completed a fully digital documentary collection for ready-made garments shipped from NAZ Bangladesh Limited to Matalan. Document processing time fell from an average of 40 days to within one day in the transaction.
Why it matters
The transaction removed courier services and physical document handling from a routine cross-border trade process. It follows Bangladesh Bank digital trade reforms that allow electronic presentation of trade documents through approved corridors.
The shipment's digital bill of lading and Digital Promissory Note were created and transferred using Enigio's trace:original technology, with processing cut from about 40 days to one day. Expansion beyond current pilot corridors awaits regulatory assessment, and the stub does not confirm wider adoption.
The players
Lloyds
Lloyds acted as the collecting bank in the UK for the transaction, which is one of the largest retail banks in the United Kingdom.
BRAC Bank
BRAC Bank acted as the remitting bank in Bangladesh for the garment shipment, and is a major private commercial bank in the country.
Enigio
Enigio provided its trace:original technology to create and transfer the digital originals used in the transaction.
The details
The shipment was executed as a Documentary Collection, with BRAC Bank as remitting bank in Bangladesh and Lloyds as collecting bank in the UK. A major container carrier issued a fully digital bill of lading, and all trade documents were transferred digitally, with digital originals designed to be legally equivalent to paper.
Timeline
2026: Bangladesh Bank digital trade reforms take effect, allowing electronic presentation of trade documents.
- 2026-11-04
Article announcing the completed digital transaction is published.
Trade Shift
The transaction applies Enigio's trace:original technology to replace paper bills of lading and promissory notes in a documentary collection. It shows the digital original model moving from pilot use into a live cross-border garment shipment.
Apparel buyers and importers may see faster document turnaround if their banks adopt the same digital collection process. The stub does not indicate when such services will be available beyond the pilot corridors.
The takeaway
Cutting document handling from 40 days to one shows how electronic trade documents can speed garment supply chains. Importers should watch for banks in their corridors adopting similar digital collection services.
Further reading
Explore more on the Fashion section for context on how apparel supply chains are evolving.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Finextra Research.
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