As global trade and payments continue to evolve, connectivity, innovation, and transformation are redefining how transaction banking adapts to new opportunities and challenges. The 2026 BAFT International Trade and Payments Conference brings together industry leaders, policymakers, and innovators to explore emerging technologies, shifting regulatory landscapes, and new partnership models shaping the next era of global trade and payments.
Join us to connect ideas, share insights, learn from industry leaders, and explore the future of trade and payments together during this three-day conference.
Conference Highlights
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
This workshop offers a practical, streamlined look at the ISO 20022 capabilities every banker should understand when engaging with clients or preparing internal teams. We’ll explore how hybrid addressing and richer structured beneficiary data improve payment quality and transparency, what ISO-to-corporate flows mean for reconciliations and operational processes, and how ISO-native investigation tools—including enhanced E&I flows and Case Manager—strengthen exception handling and resolution. Designed for both client-facing and operations teams, this workshop equips participants with the clarity needed to confidently navigate ISO-driven changes.
In partnership with
12: 00 PM – 12:45 PM
12:45 PM – 4:00 PM
As global trade dynamics continue to shift, supply chain finance (SCF) programs are evolving to meet new economic, regulatory, and technological realities. This workshop brings together industry experts and corporate practitioners to explore the next generation of SCF and inventory finance solutions. Participants will gain insights into emerging frameworks, funding mechanisms, and the growing participation of non-bank players and private credit in supporting global supply chains. Through real-world case studies, discussions and perspectives from our trainers and guest speakers, the workshop will provide a comprehensive view of where SCF is headed and leave attendees with a deeper understanding of how innovation, technology, and risk management are reshaping the future of supply chain finance.
12:45 AM – 1:50 PM | The Evolving Landscape of Supply Chain Finance
Caryn Pace-Messenger
Managing Director,
Bank of America
Alexander Malaket
President,
OPUS Advisory Services International Inc.
1:50 PM– 2:25 PM | Innovations in Inventory Finance
2:25 PM – 2:40 PM | Networking Break
2:40 PM – 3:20 PM | Data, Fraud and Risk
3:20 PM – 4:00 PM Client Perspectives
4:15 PM – 5:30 PM
In today’s interconnected trade and payments landscape, relationships are the currency of success. This Women in Transaction Banking (WTB) session explores how to build authentic, strategic networks that drive both personal growth and professional opportunity. Hear from industry leaders as they share practical tips on connecting with purpose, cultivating influence, and transforming relationships into lasting partnerships.
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM
9:00 AM – 9:30 AM
9:30 AM – 10:00 AM
10:00 AM – 10:40 AM
10:40 AM – 10:55 AM
10:55 AM – 11:40 AM
TRADE
The Future of Supply Chain Finance
PAYMENTS
The G20 Global Roadmap
11:45 AM – 12:30 PM
TRADE
Third-Party & Vendor Risk Management in Supply Chain Finance
PAYMENTS
Financial Crime in Instant and Faster Payments vs Fraud Mitigation
Panelists
Bobi Shields-Farrelly
Senior Vice President, Head of Payments Operations
PNC
Steve Bernstein
Head of North America Strategic Business Development
JPM
12:30 PM – 1:30 PM
1:30 PM – 2:15 PM
TRADE
AML/KYC in a Digital Era
PAYMENTS
Next-Gen Cross-Border Payments
2:20 PM – 3:00 PM
TRADE
Trade, Tariffs and the Causation of Fraud: The New Trifect
PAYMENTS
Payments Track: Instant Payments and Liquidity Management: 24/7/365 Risks and Opportunities
The shift to real-time payments — from FedNow and RTP to emerging cross-border instant rails — is transforming how financial institutions manage liquidity. As money moves 24/7/365, treasurers and risk managers must rethink traditional cash positioning, collateral strategies, and intraday liquidity frameworks. This session will explore how instant payments are reshaping liquidity management, what tools and data are needed for round-the-clock visibility, and how banks and corporates can balance speed, resiliency, and regulatory expectations.
Moderator
Barry Tooker
Principal
transactionbanker.com
Panelists
Juan Bolona
Director, Treasury Services Global Cash Management Solutions Group
BNY
Rosemary Trusso
Lead Product Manager – Commercial Banking , EPCP Commercial Payments
Keybank
3:05 PM – 3:45 PM
TRADE
Unlocking Trade Growth in LATAM & the Caribbean: Risks, Resilience, and Opportunities
PAYMENTS
Identity and Aliases in the New World of Payments
The proliferation and sophistication of fraud techniques have made privacy a top priority; coupled with new payment methods such as digital wallets and stablecoins to address current payments infrastructure inefficiencies that do not work with traditional information requirements, how do we keep the global payments ecosystem safe and sound? This panel will discuss how the industry can preserve privacy while adhering to regulatory and compliance requirements.
Panelists
Carlos K. Missao
Global Head of Innovation Solutions
GFT
Erik J. Provitt, JD, CFE
Associate Director, Financial Crimes, Risk, and Compliance
Guidehouse
Peter Warms
Head of Business Development, North America
GLEIF
3:45 PM – 4:00 PM
4:00 PM – 4:30 PM
4:30 PM – 5:10 PM
As geopolitical tensions, regulatory divergence, and technological disruption reshape the landscape of international commerce, global banks and corporates are navigating a new era of complexity. This plenary brings together senior leaders from BAFT’s Global Payments Industry Council (GPIC) and Global Trade Industry Council (GTIC) to explore how institutions are managing liquidity, risk, and innovation in a world marked by uncertainty.
Panelists
Avanee Gokhale
Global Head Trade Strategy
Swift
Renata Vilanova Lobo
Managing Director, Payments
JP Morgan
Kaushik Mukherjee
SVP, Head of Trade
Wells Fargo
Marc Recker
Managing Director | Head of Global Client Solutions
Deutsche Bank
5:10 PM – 5:15 PM
5:15 PM – 6:30 PM
7:30 AM – 8:30 AM
8:30 AM – 8:40 AM
8:40 AM – 9:20 AM
The financial world is at a pivotal inflection point, propelled by blockchain technology and further shaped by landmark legislation like the GENIUS Act of 2025. This panel will explore the transformative impact of this new regulatory framework on the future of payments and trade. With stablecoins now legitimized and regulated, and the tokenization of real-world assets accelerating, the panel will unpack how these innovations are redefining liquidity, operational efficiency, and global financial infrastructure.
Panelists
Larry Pruss
Managing Director
SRM Corporation
Elizabeth St. Onge
Managing Director, Head of Client Innovation & Advisory
TD Securities
9:20 AM – 9:55 AM
payments ecosystem, the industry faces a rapidly shifting fraud landscape. This session provides a high-level view of how AI is reshaping criminal behavior, the emergence of new fraud typologies, and what financial institutions, corporates, and law enforcement are seeing on the ground. An FBI expert will outline current trends in AI-enabled fraud, including social engineering, identity manipulation, deepfakes, and large-scale cyber-enabled schemes targeting financial institutions and their clients. This session sets the stage for deeper technical conversations by giving participants a holistic understanding of the threat environment and the strategic considerations that should guide organizational resilience in the age of AI.
Speaker
Meredith Williams
Supervisory Special Agent
FBI
10:10 AM – 10:50 AM
TRADE
Redrawing the Global Map: How Geopolitics Is Reshaping Trade Routes
Geopolitical tensions, shifting alliances, and economic security strategies are rapidly reshaping global trade routes, giving rise to new and reconfigured corridors. As traditional lanes face disruptions, emerging pathways such as the India–Middle East–Europe Corridor (IMEC), expanded Gulf–East Africa links, North America–Mexico nearshoring routes, Central Asia’s “Middle Corridor,” and China+1 diversification across ASEAN are becoming increasingly important for global supply chains. This session explores how these evolving corridors are redefining trade flows and risk profiles—and what financial institutions must anticipate as new geopolitical realities influence cross-border payments, trade finance demand, and supply-chain resilience.
PAYMENTS
AI in Compliance & Fraud Detection
AI has the potential to transform real-time risk management and fraud detection across payment networks, but its success depends on cross-industry collaboration. This session looks at how financial institutions can use AI to reduce compliance risk while also improving efficiency by cutting false positives and manual checks. It will also examine the flip side—how fraudsters are using AI—and what this means for the industry’s approach to security and resilience.
10:55 AM – 11:35 AM
TRADE
Digital Trade Enablement
PAYMENTS
Transforming Payments with Digital Assets and Distributed Ledger Technology
Digital Assets have taken a prominent seat at the table, especially with regulatory clarity in the US. Digital Assets and its underlying technology, Distributed Ledgers, promises to transform the payment and settlement space by eliminating the intermediaries; or does it. This panel will discuss the potential of Digital Assets and Distributed Ledger Technology, as well as the path to mainstream adoption.
Panelist
Tony McLaughlin
Ubyx
11:40 AM – 12:20 AM
TRADE
MRPA: How Banks Structure, Share & Mitigate Risk
The Master Risk Participation Agreement (MRPA) is a foundational tool enabling banks to efficiently distribute, share, and mitigate credit and country risk across trade and working-capital finance. This session provides a clear overview of the intent and structure of the MRPA, who uses it, and why it has become essential to modern risk-distribution strategies. Senior bankers and practitioners will walk through real-world case studies illustrating how the MRPA is applied in transactions, how institutions coordinate with partners, and how it supports capital optimization, client delivery, and portfolio diversification across global markets.
PAYMENTS
ISO 20022 Migration: Lessons Learned, What’s Coming
12:20 PM – 1:20 PM
1:20 PM – 2:00 PM
TRADE
BASEL III: Like the Weather, Everyone Talks About It, But No One Does Anything About It.
PAYMENTS
Intelligent Agents, Intelligent Risks: The Next Frontier of AI in Payments
Agentic AI introduces unprecedented efficiency—machines that can act, decide, and transact independently. Yet, autonomy brings new operational and ethical risks. Industry experts discuss use cases already emerging in payment orchestration, compliance monitoring, and treasury operations, and how frameworks must evolve to manage decision-making AI responsibly.
Panelists
Kevin Miyamoto
Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer
Identifee
2:05 PM – 2:45 PM
TRADE
Sanctions Complexity Across Jurisdictions
PAYMENTS
Global Payments Modernization: Roundtable
Payments modernization is accelerating worldwide, but each region is taking a different path. This roundtable brings together experts from the Americas, EMEA, and APAC to compare how markets are upgrading their payment systems — from instant-payment rails to mobile-money ecosystems and ISO 20022-driven interoperability.
Panelists will discuss key drivers, regional challenges, and the balance between innovation, regulation, and financial-crime safeguards. The session will highlight what modernization looks like in practice, how interoperability is evolving across borders, and what lessons can be shared to build more inclusive, efficient, and connected global payment ecosystems.
Panelists
Kwabena Ayirebi
Managing Director, Banking Operations
Afreximbank
2:45 PM – 3:00 PM
3:00 PM – 3:35 PM
3:35 PM – 4:10 PM
This panel will look at how banks, FinTechs and Swift can work together to protect transparency and consistency as alternative payment methods become mainstream. The discussion will focus on avoiding gaps between different systems, so remitters and beneficiaries have clear and consistent experience. Speakers will share practical ideas on how to keep standards aligned, meet compliance needs, and build a network that works for everyone.
4:10 PM
4:15 PM – 5:00 PM
Sponsored by
Full Conference
All prices in USD.
| Registration Type | Early Bird Rate (Until December 16, 2025) | Regular Rate (From December 17, 2025 – January 13, 2026) | Last Minute Rate (After January 13, 2026) |
| Member | $1,400 USD | $1,550 USD | $1,700 USD |
| Member Team | $1,200 USD | $1,350 USD | $1,500 USD |
| Non-Member | $1,700 USD | $1,850 USD | $2,000 USD |
The Member Team rate applies to groups of 6 or more registering from the same institution at the same time. Please contact [email protected] to receive the member team rate.
Workshop only: Choose one or both
All prices in USD. Both workshops include lunch.
Swift training workshop is from 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM ET on February 3, 2026.
| Registration Type | Early Bird Rate (Until December 16, 2025) | Regular Rate (From December 17, 2025 – January 13, 2026) | Last Minute Rate (After January 13, 2026) |
| Member | $400 USD | $500 USD | $600 USD |
| Non-Member | $650 USD | $750 USD | $850 USD |
Supply Chain Finance training workshop is from 12:45 PM – 4:00 PM ET on February 3, 2026.
| Registration Type | Early Bird Rate (Until December 16, 2025) | Regular Rate (From December 17, 2025 – January 13, 2026) | Last Minute Rate (After January 13, 2026) |
| Member | $400 USD | $500 USD | $600 USD |
| Non-Member | $650 USD | $750 USD | $850 USD |
Please Note:
You will be asked to log in to your BAFT web account to complete registration. If you have not reset your password or created a BAFT account, please complete this step before proceeding with your registration.
Kwabena Ayirebi, is Managing Director, Banking Operations at the African Export Import Bank (Afreximbank). Afreximbank is the foremost pan-African multilateral financial institution devoted to financing and promoting intra- and extra-African trade. Kwabena, joined Afreximbank in September 2017 after 13 years with HSBC as an International Manager, serving in various leadership roles in India, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and UK. At Afreximbank he has led the development of payments and trade services capabilities which has positively impacted the availability of trade finance for the Bank’s member countries and clients. He loves travelling and in August 2023 undertook a 10,000km “Drive for Digitisalisation” from Accra to London raising funds for a charity that is delivering technology interventions in rural Ghana.
Avanee joined Swift in April, 2023 as the Global Head, Trade Strategy based at Singapore. Avanee has over 20 years of banking experience across Singapore, North America, Hong Kong and India. At Swift she is responsible to help formulate and drive the core strategic trade agenda as well as help swift redefine its role in the exciting and evolving global payments and trade eco system. She also helps drive partnerships with banks, corporates, fintechs, governments and industry bodies on various initiatives to ensure frictionless trade for the community. Before Swift, Avanee was responsible for global product management for trade and supply chain finance at ANZ. In her 20 years of banking, she has worked in a variety of roles including sales for trade, payments & cash management, relationship management covering the shipping and logistics sector, credit, strategy, and technology. Avanee has a master’s degree in computer engineering from State University of New York and an MBA from INSEAD.
Alexander R. Malaket, CITP, is the President of OPUS Advisory Services International Inc., in Canada, and Founder and Managing Director of Trade Finance Associates Pte in Singapore. Mr. Malaket is recognized internationally as a specialist and senior consultant in international trade and trade finance, having advised top-tier financial services, corporate, government and international institution clients across the globe, and having developed and delivered a variety of training seminars on an international basis. Mr. Malaket serves as a member of the Executive Committee and Technical Advisor to the ICC Banking Commission in Paris, as Secretary/Treasurer of the World Trade Centre in Winnipeg and is a long-time member of the Toronto Regional Board of Trade/World Trade Centre, as well as a member of the SWIFT/ICC Industry Education Group on the Bank Payment Obligation. Alexander is a member of the Board of Directors of the Forum for International Trade Training, Ottawa, Canada. Alexander is the author of “Financing Trade and International Supply Chains”, published by Gower/Ashgate UK.
Tony McLaughlin is responsible for Emerging Payments and Business Development in Citi’s Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS) business. Tony is responsible for the TTS Ecommerce proposition and is deeply involved in new methods of payment, Distributed Ledger and Fintech engagements. He joined Citi in 2004 and has been Core Cash Head for Asia Pacific based in Hong Kong and the Global Transaction Services Head for the United Kingdom, spearheading Citi’s engagement with large public sector clients and payment aggregators. Tony was responsible for the design and development of ABN AMRO’s Third Party Continuous Linked Settlement (CLS) offering, core electronic banking platform and transactional FX solution. At HSBC Holdings, he fulfilled a global strategy role for the Payments and Cash Management business. Before that he was a Senior Product Manager for Barclays Bank with responsibility for electronic collections products including International Direct Debits.
Kevin Miyamoto is Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Identifee, responsible for all operational and administrative procedures. Prior to working at Identifee, Kevin worked at Corporate Executive Board, now part of Gartner, and spent a number of years working in multiple roles in Wells Fargo’s Payments, Virtual Solutions, and Innovations Team. Most recently, Kevin was the Business Manager in Wells Fargo’s Sponsorship Team, managing over $850B of payment volume.
Kaushik Mukherjee is Senior Vice President and Head of Global Receivable & Trade for Asia Pacific, at Wells Fargo, based in Singapore. Kaushik joined Wells Fargo, Hong Kong in 2011, from Axis Bank, where he spent 14 years working in various leadership roles in Trade Operations, International Banking, Corporate Trade & Cash Management, Credit and Treasury functions as well as Trade Asset Distribution, both at Head Office in Mumbai and its Hong Kong branch. He moved to Singapore in 2014 with Wells Fargo, to manage the trade business for Asia South region involving India sub-continent, South-East Asia and Australia, both for the Corporate and FI clients. He took over the role of heading the GRT business for the entire APAC region in Oct 2020, with team members based in Singapore, Hong Kong, China and Japan, covering the Corporate and FI clients in the region.
Caryn Pace is a Managing Director in Global Payments Solutions at Bank of America. She heads Global Portfolio Management & Product Risk in Global Trade & Supply Chain. In this role, she has responsibility for the trade portfolio including monitoring, development of risk mitigation strategies, forecast impacts, and balance sheet management. Her team has oversight of risk mitigation on a portfolio and transaction level, including routines involving high risk transactions, asset quality, and business control. To drive and influence the global trade business strategy, she engages with clients and potential third party partnership opportunities to understand market perspective and evolving product needs. Caryn is a part of Bank of America’s Hispanic-Latino Executive Council. She serves on the GPS Social & Economic Action Council and is an active leader in junior talent initiatives. Previously, she held positions within global trade at J.P. Morgan where she worked for 12 years. She currently serves as a Vice-Chair on the International Chamber of Commerce Banking Commission. Caryn received her bachelor’s degree from Columbia University and is based in New York.
Marc is responsible for the strategic development and positioning of cash clearing products for Deutsche Bank globally. The Clearing Product function is an integral component of the bank’s franchise in terms of strategic direction, product & service development, positioning, thought leadership as well as identifying and executing growth opportunities. Marc has been engaged in the financial services industry since 1998, re-joining Deutsche Bank in 2014 after having worked for JPMorgan and ING in various positions in both product management and operations. He is Deutsche Bank’s representative in various industry forums/working groups and holds a bachelor in foreign trade from the Liege Management School.
Barry is the Principal at TransactionBanker.com, a payments consultancy, and is a recognized expert in wholesale banking and the payments industry. He has been involved in payment operations, systems transformations, and modernization related projects for global banks and hardware and software firms for decades. Barry has managed day to day operations, as well as planned, organized, directed, and managed, major banking initiatives for banks around the world. Barry is a current member of the Bankers Association for Finance and Trade (BAFT) Payments Committee and Co- Chairs their Payments Roadmap Workgroup. He is a past member of their Board of Directors. He was recognized in 2021 and 2022 as one of two BAFT Ambassadors of the Year. Barry is a former member of the US Faster Payments Council where he served as the Chair of their Cross Border Payments Workgroup and as member of their Operational Considerations Workgroup.
Renata Vilanova Lobo is the Head of Global Clearing at J.P. Morgan, being responsible for Clearing infrastructure, product, solutions and services related to cross border payments provided globally. Renata leads the product development, innovation and maintenance, go-to-market strategy, and client messaging of Cross Border Payments solutions globally offered to Financial Institutions and Corporate clients. In this role Renata has responsibility for providing strategic direction, leadership and oversight for the global correspondent banking business, working with J.P. Morgan stakeholders to deliver safe, efficient and innovative cross-border payments solutions. Renata joined J.P. Morgan in 2011 and for almost a decade she focused on building core cash management capabilities and growing the Payments business in Latam (Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile and Colombia). Renata has 25+ years of experience in the financial market, holding various positions leading local and international cash management and liquidity services, from a Product, Risk Management and Sales perspective.
Connect with Trade and Payments Experts and Get Your Brand in Front of Your Target Audience
BAFT is delighted to host the 3rd annual BAFT International Trade and Payments Conference, February 3 – 5, 2026 in Jersey City. With the increasing interplay between trade and payments, we are uniting thought leaders, trade professionals, and payments experts for this exceptional gathering. This conference is a combination of our Annual Conference on International Trade and our Global Payments Conference, attracting over 200 trade and payments professionals from across the world.
Benefits |
Platinum |
Gold (5 available) |
Silver |
| Thought Leadership | |||
| Speaking opportunity in event programming | Yes (General Session) | Yes (General Session) | Yes (Trade or Payments Track) |
| One-page flyer for conference registration desk | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
Event Registrations and Lead Generation |
|||
| Complimentary registrations | 4 in-person | 3 in-person | 2 in-person |
| Event Attendee List with Email Contact Information (pre- and post-event) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
Marketing and Branding |
|||
| Custom giveaway to all attendees | Yes | – | – |
| Table-top display | Yes | Yes | – |
| Pull-up banner in registration area for the duration of conference | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Logo featured on event website and on-site marketing materials | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Recognition as sponsor during event introduction and event PPT presentation | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Logo included on all email promotion pre- and post-event | Yes | Yes | Yes |
The 2026 International Trade and Payments Conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency Jersey City on the Hudson in Jersey City, NJ.
Book Your Room
A block of rooms at the Hyatt Regency Jersey City on the Hudson has been reserved exclusively for BAFT conference attendees. These blocks of rooms often sell out, so book early to guarantee your room at the discounted attendee rate. The hotel booking deadline is January 15, 2026.
BAFT Guestroom Rate: USD$209 + tax
Please check cancellation policy when making your room reservation. For additional assistance, contact [email protected].
Interested in sponsoring the 2026 BAFT International Trade and Payments Conference? We can tailor your sponsorship package to meet your goals.
To discuss your sponsorship options, please contact:
Matthew Kaitz
Senior Director, Business Development
[email protected]
+1 (703) 200-9071