VIDEO | Leveraging business information to manage uncertainty in global trade - Trade Treasury Payments

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At the ITFA Americas Annual Conference in Miami, Trade Treasury Payments (TTP) spoke with Chelsea Starley, Global Solutions Business Information Executive at Coface, to explore how business information is helping firms navigate today’s risk environment.

Starley said, “Many people know Coface as one of the world’s leading trade credit insurers. What they don’t always realise is that we also offer our internal underwriting tools, like scores, credit opinions, and business reports, to the market. It’s essentially underwriting as a service.”

The demand for these services is growing, particularly in regions where data is scarce and financial reporting is inconsistent.

Starley said, “We’re seeing a lot of need in Latin America, where transparency is limited and fraud is a concern. We’ve also had strong demand from parts of Asia. To strengthen our data in these regions, we’ve acquired providers like Cedar Rose in the Middle East and Africa, and we continue to invest in expanding our information base.”

In the current climate, geopolitical risk and macroeconomic uncertainty are top of mind for many clients, but the ripple effects often come through the supply chain.

“Clients are no longer just looking at buyer risk,” Starley said. “They’re trying to assess supplier vulnerability, too. If a supplier goes down due to conflict or economic pressure, replacing that supplier isn’t easy. So understanding upstream risk has become more important.”

That risk, she added, is often buried under too much noise.

“There’s too much information out there. People are overwhelmed, and they don’t know what’s relevant or trustworthy. That’s where we can help, because we’re combining public data with insights from our own insurance policies, claims, and payment experiences, which gives us a much more complete risk picture.”

One area where this is particularly valuable is the mid-market.

Starley said, “Larger companies usually have strong credit procedures, but mid-market and non-investment grade firms are harder to assess. These companies still need capital, but traditional data sources often miss them. That’s where our value comes in. If we don’t already have the data, we’ll go get it, because we underwrite it like it’s our own portfolio.”

Looking across her conversations at the conference, Starley pointed to one consistent theme.

“There’s a clear appetite for better insight into mid-market credit. Everyone’s trying to solve that gap. And Latin America has been a big focus here in Miami, it keeps coming up in conversations.”

Starley added, “Don’t wait for risk to materialise. Use information to predict it.”