Societe Generale confirms One of the First Fully Digital Letters of Credit Between the United Kingdom and France
A new milestone has been reached in the digitalisation of international trade. On June 8th, Societe Generale confirmed a fully digital letter of credit (LC) issued by Lloyds on behalf of Board24 Ltd in favour of BOBST Lyon - France. Executed through the Enigio solution, the transaction demonstrates the growing ability of the trade finance ecosystem to move beyond pilot initiatives and towards large-scale real-world implementation.
From vision to reality
Just a few months after the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Banking Commission Annual Meeting, held on 18 and 19 March 2026 at Societe Generale's headquarters under the theme "Shaping the Future of Trade Finance in a Multipolar World", another milestone has been achieved with the completion of a fully digital LC transaction between the United Kingdom and France.
The transaction represents a significant step forward for the trade finance industry, which continues to be constrained by paper-based transferable documents and by the complexity of interactions among the various stakeholders involved in global trade.
A transaction involving several key stakeholders
The transaction supports a commercial relationship between Board24 Ltd, one of the United Kingdom's leading independent manufacturers of corrugated board and packaging solutions, and BOBST Lyon-France, one of the world’s leading suppliers of substrate processing, printing and converting equipment and services for the label, flexible packaging, folding carton and corrugated industries. To support the purchase of an Expert machine together with several related pieces of equipment, a LC was issued by Lloyds on behalf of Board24 Ltd and subsequently confirmed by Societe Generale in favour of BOBST Lyon-France.
The transaction is the first, real-world trade finance operations to rely entirely on digital documentation throughout the process completed in France.
Technology serving security and trust
The transaction was enabled through the solution developed by Enigio, a Swedish technology company specialising in the secure management of original electronic documents.
At the core of the solution, Enigio’s trace: original technology, enables the creation, transfer and management of unique, secure and traceable digital documents. Through this technology, trade finance instruments such as LC and electronic bills of lading can be exchanged without paper while ensuring the uniqueness of the documents, establishing a sole control, identifying the signatories and successive holders and preserving its integrity
This approach addresses one of the key challenges facing international trade: enabling legally transferable documents to circulate electronically without compromising security, compliance or legal certainty.
Another Step Towards More Efficient International Trade
Beyond its pioneering nature, the transaction highlights the potential of digital infrastructures to streamline international trade flows.
The digitalisation of trade documents helps reduce processing times, mitigate operational risks associated with the physical handling of documents and improve end-to-end traceability across exporters, importers, banks and logistics providers.
It also reflects the collective efforts of the trade finance ecosystem to build more interconnected, faster and more efficient processes, enabling companies, irrespective of their size or sector, to benefit from a wider range of solutions to mitigate the risks of their international transactions, while enhancing the sector’s ability to attract young talents.
The Road Ahead
This first transaction paves the way for broader adoption of electronic transferable documents within international trade.
As national regulatory frameworks continue to evolve and digital platforms increase interoperability, market participants will be able to progressively digitalise the entire documentary lifecycle, from the underlying commercial contract through to financing and goods delivery.
The challenge now is to move from pioneering transactions to widespread adoption capable of transforming global trade practices on a lasting basis.
Why Is This Transaction Important?For decades, international trade has relied on paper documents, both non-negotiable documents (invoices, packing list, certificate of origin, etc.) and negotiable documents such as bills of lading, bills of exchange or promissory notes whose physical possession was required to transfer the rights they embodied. |
This transaction is a great example of what can be achieved when technology is combined with strong collaboration between all stakeholders. Managing a fully digital letter of credit requires close coordination and trust between the corporate parties, the banks and the technology provider. Throughout the process, the close cooperation between Board24, Lloyds, Societe Generale and Enigio enabled us to address the challenges together and ensure that the transaction progressed smoothly from beginning to end. For me, this is what makes this milestone particularly meaningful: it demonstrates that digital trade finance is not only technically possible but can work efficiently in real commercial conditions when all stakeholders work together towards the same objective.
Board24 is proud to have been part of a milestone that shows how digital trade finance can deliver real value in a live commercial environment. Working alongside BOBST, Lloyds, Societe Generale and Enigio, the process demonstrated how strong collaboration, clear communication and the right technology can simplify traditional trade flows while maintaining the security, control and confidence required for international trade. This is an important step forward in making trade finance more efficient, transparent and scalable, and it highlights the practical benefits that digital solutions can bring to businesses and their trading partners.
This transaction marks an important milestone in the evolution of digital trade finance and reinforces Societe Generale’s position at the forefront of the industry's transition towards interoperable and fully digital trade solutions. Enabled by Enigio's solution and achieved through the collaboration of Societe Generale, Lloyds, BOBST Lyon-France and Board24, it demonstrates how a connected ecosystem can successfully deliver end-to-end digital trade transactions under real commercial conditions, paving the way for scalable and efficient alternatives to traditional paper-based processes.
Lloyds has been leading the charge to digitise documentary trade for a number of years and this transaction marks an important milestone in that journey. Together with Societe Generale, Board24, BOBST Lyon-France and Enigio, we’ve completed our first digital trade transaction between the UK and France. Alongside delivering digital trade transactions for our own clients, we’ve been working with partner banks to identify practical digital trade flows and accelerate adoption across the market. As a result, our digital trade volumes have increased more than fourfold year-on-year. Transactions such as this demonstrate what can be achieved when banks, corporates and technology providers collaborate to create scalable, interoperable digital trade solutions, helping pave the way for the future of global trade.
This transaction demonstrates that digital trade is no longer a future ambition, it is now delivering tangible value in live commercial environments. Seeing leading organisations such as Societe Generale, Lloyds, Board24 and BOBST Lyon-France successfully complete one of the first fully digital letters of credit between the United Kingdom and France is a significant milestone for our industry. By leveraging Enigio's trace:original technology, the parties have shown that legally transferable trade instruments can be managed digitally while preserving security, control, integrity and compliance. As more jurisdictions adopt MLETR-aligned legislation, we expect transactions like this to become the standard, helping organisations reduce operational complexity, increase efficiency and unlock the full potential of digital trade.
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