NatWest uses Cleareye.ai to automate trade finance checks

NatWest has partnered with Cleareye.ai to automate checks on trade finance documents and to add AI-driven detection of trade-based money laundering and fraud. The bank said the effort aims to speed cross-border trade processing and strengthen controls on complex international transactions.

The Cleareye.ai software will validate documents against International Chamber of Commerce rules and run automated checks designed to identify trade-based money laundering risks. The system will be applied to documentary instruments such as letters of credit and bills of lading and to both digital and paper records.

NatWest stated the technology will reduce manual checks that traditionally slow trade finance, where large payments and multiple participants require extensive document review. The bank presented the project as part of a program to modernize trade finance operations, improve operational resilience and meet regulatory expectations in global trade.

Michael Gilham, trade product lead for commercial and institutional at NatWest, commented that the technology will help business customers trade in foreign markets with greater speed and certainty and will strengthen protection against fraud and financial crime.

The bank reported wider use of AI across its operations. In 2025 NatWest’s software engineers generated 35% of code using AI development tools, all 60,000 staff were given access to AI productivity software, and thousands of human hours were saved through AI-assisted workflows. The bank also began a collaboration with OpenAI last year.

Cleareye.ai is already in use at other UK banks. Lloyds Bank signed with the provider in 2024 to automate checks of both digital and paper trade documents. Banks are applying similar technologies to speed processing, reduce error rates in document handling and enhance detection of illicit activity linked to trade flows.

Industry data points to rising returns from AI in banking operations. A 2025 survey of financial institutions found 59% of respondents reported AI-driven productivity gains in the past year, up from 32% in 2024. The same survey showed 21% of firms said AI is directly driving business growth, compared with 8% a year earlier, and roughly one third reported improved customer experiences and deeper customer insights.

Research by Zopa and Juniper estimated generative AI could save about 187 million labor hours, mainly in back-office roles, and suggested around 27,000 jobs might be displaced by 2030. Separately, Commerzbank announced plans to cut roughly 3,000 jobs as it increases AI investment to €600 million over the next four years.

NatWest did not disclose the full scale of the Cleareye.ai rollout or exact timelines for implementation across its trade finance operations. The bank said the initiative is part of ongoing technology investment to simplify customer processes and strengthen fraud and financial crime controls in international trade.