Anti-Money Laundering in Trade

Apply financial-crime controls throughout the trade-finance lifecycle

Develop the practical judgement to review trade-finance business, ask relevant questions and escalate concerns with clear supporting evidence.

A customer’s transaction may appear commercially reasonable, yet an unexpected intermediary, changed payment instruction or unexplained source of funds can raise questions that require further review.

AML in Trade Finance shows you how a bank approaches those questions throughout the transaction lifecycle. Follow the process from customer due diligence and facility use through document handling, financing, settlement and ongoing monitoring.

You will learn to connect the customer, goods, documents and money, and use that connected picture to support proportionate, documented decisions.

Course at a glance

• Format: Self-paced online learning with narration.

• Content: 96 screens organised into 12 focused chapters.

• Practical learning: 15 decision activities and three video case walkthroughs.

• Study support: Comprehensive Student Manual, glossary and transcripts.

• Estimated study time: Approximately three hours for the learning unit, plus the assessment.

• Assessment: 20 questions selected from a bank of 50.

• Pass mark: 60%, equivalent to 12 correct answers out of 20.

• Primary focus: Banking processes and financial-crime controls in trade finance.

Make the connection between AML knowledge and everyday trade-finance work

Effective transaction review depends on understanding the business behind the documents.

Does the proposed trade fit the customer’s established activity? What role does an intermediary perform? Why is payment coming from a third party? Does a replacement invoice represent a new receivable or the same sale already financed?

This course helps you work through these questions using the information available to the bank. You will practise identifying what is supported, what remains uncertain and which action falls within your authority.

The learning also explains how financial-crime review interacts with documentary requirements, payment deadlines and other banking responsibilities.

What you will learn

1. Why trade finance presents particular risks

Explore how international trade can disguise the movement of value, why banks may see only part of a transaction and how to apply controls proportionate to the identified risk.

2. Understanding the customer and expected trade

Build a useful picture of the customer’s business, trading capacity, normal counterparties, markets and transaction cycle. Learn how to compare actual activity with that profile and recognise changes requiring review.

3. Parties, intermediaries and beneficial ownership

Examine the roles of buyers, sellers, agents and other intermediaries. Consider ownership and control, related-party relationships and the quality of evidence supporting the bank’s understanding.

4. Funding and commercial purpose

Assess the economic explanation for a transaction. Explore source of funds, repayment, pricing, routes and trading capacity, and learn to identify gaps between the explanation and the evidence.

5. Documentary credits and AML controls

Follow control points from application and issuance through amendments, presentation and settlement. Understand how documentary examination and financial-crime review contribute to the overall decision.

6. Documentary collections

Review the roles of collecting and remitting banks, release instructions, available documents, unpaid items and third-party settlement arrangements.

7. Guarantees and standby credits

Explore the underlying contract, applicants and beneficiaries, counter-guarantees, amendments, extensions and demands. Consider how contingent instruments and cash-backed arrangements can create financial-crime concerns.

8. Open-account and receivables financing

Examine the evidence behind financed receivables, duplicate or overlapping finance, settlement patterns and changes affecting the amount recoverable. The chapter also introduces relevant considerations for payables, inventory and pre-shipment financing.

9. Third-party payments and unusual settlement

Work through payments made by parties outside the expected trade relationship, changed beneficiary accounts, split payments, netting, refunds and unexplained overpayments.

10. Transaction monitoring and escalation

Connect individual transaction events with wider patterns. Learn how to prepare a referral that sets out the facts, evidence, unresolved concerns and time-sensitive decisions.

11. AML and wider financial crime

Understand how AML relates to sanctions, counter-terrorist financing, proliferation financing, bribery and corruption. Explore why names, ownership, goods, routes and end use can each require attention.

12. Responsibilities and the bank control framework

Clarify the contributions of relationship management, operations, compliance, management and independent assurance. Bring the learning together in a documented transaction decision.

Practise decisions you could encounter at work

The course uses fictional businesses and realistic situations to help you apply the learning.

A new account instruction arrives before payment is due.
The documents comply, but the beneficiary’s payment details have apparently changed. Consider how to verify the instruction and coordinate the review within the remaining timetable.

An invoice returns with a slightly different reference.
The customer explains that the original needed correction. Work through whether the request represents a new receivable or an existing sale already financed.

An unfamiliar company offers to repay a trade advance.
The goods and delivery evidence appear consistent with the customer’s business. Assess what remains to be established about the payer, its role and the source of funds.

Across the activities, feedback explains the reasoning behind the available choices and identifies the evidence that would help move the review forward.

Who is this course for?

This course is particularly relevant to:

• Trade-finance operations and document-checking staff.

• Corporate, commercial and SME banking relationship managers.

• AML, KYC and customer due-diligence professionals.

• Financial-crime compliance and transaction-monitoring staff.

• Trade-finance product, credit and risk professionals.

• Internal auditors reviewing trade-finance controls.

• Professionals moving into a banking role involving international trade.

A basic familiarity with trade-finance products will help you get the most from the course. A glossary and explanatory material support your study.

Learn at your own pace

Work through the chapters in manageable sessions, using narration, transcripts and practical explanations to support your understanding.

The comprehensive Student Manual provides a reference for reviewing the course topics and revisiting the reasoning behind key control decisions. The learning unit also supports saving and resuming your progress.

Check your understanding

The separate assessment presents 20 questions drawn from a 50-question bank, with coverage across all 12 chapters.

Each correct answer contributes five percentage points towards your result. The pass mark is 60%.

After completing the questions, you will see your score and can choose to:

• Exit and save your score to accept the result.

• Retake the test to receive a different selection of 20 questions.

Questions may recur between attempts, while the overall selection changes.

Frequently asked questions

What is the main focus of the course?
The course explains how a bank applies AML and wider financial-crime controls when handling trade-finance business. It follows the customer relationship and transaction lifecycle, with practical attention to banking products, processes and responsibilities.

Which trade-finance products are covered?
Documentary credits, documentary collections, guarantees, standby credits, open-account trade and receivables financing. The course also addresses relevant aspects of payables, inventory, pre-shipment and financial-institution trade financing.

Does the course cover sanctions and terrorist financing?
Yes. It examines the relationship between AML, sanctions, counter-terrorist financing and proliferation financing, alongside bribery, corruption and relevant fraud risks.

How long should I allow?
Allow approximately three hours for the learning unit, including its activities. Set aside additional time for the assessment and any topics you wish to revisit.

Is the learning practical?
Yes. Fifteen decision activities and three video case walkthroughs ask you to assess explanations, connect evidence and select appropriate next steps.

Can I retake the assessment?
Yes. On the results page, you can choose to retake the test before accepting your score. The retake draws a fresh selection of 20 questions from the question bank.

Does the course focus on one country’s procedures?
The course teaches a bank-oriented approach to transaction review. It highlights where applicable law, jurisdiction, bank policy and specialist advice affect the action required.

Strengthen your approach to trade-finance review

Build your ability to connect the transaction evidence, recognise unresolved concerns and contribute to a clear, documented control decision.

Enrol in AML in Trade Finance and develop practical financial-crime awareness for your trade-finance role.