At the Trade Treasury Payments Awards 2026 in Jersey City, USA, Trade Treasury Payments (TTP) spoke with Su Ashworth of Matalan, winner of the Editor’s Choice Award, about how a very real challenge during the pandemic became the starting point for a broader digital trade transformation.

Ashworth admitted the recognition came as a surprise, particularly given the scale and complexity of the competition. She explained that what began as a simple search for a better way of handling documentation during lockdown ultimately evolved into a company-wide shift towards digital trade processes.

Ashworth said, “For a corporate to be included within all of banking, trade and treasury, and for us to win this just from something that came from COVID… I’m really pleased we’ve won that.”

During lockdown, trade documents that would normally circulate through offices and banks began arriving at Ashworth’s home. With more than 15,000 bills of lading and over 1,000 documentary collections each year, the volume quickly became overwhelming. Ashworth’s daily exercise quickly morphed into trips to post trade documents around the world. A surefire reminder of just how paper-dependent many trade processes still were.

Ashworth said, “That’s when I went onto Google to say there must be something more than doing all this paperwork.”

That search led her to the UK’s Electronic Trade Documents Act (ETDA) and the possibility of moving traditionally paper-based instruments into digital form. From there, Matalan began testing digital trade workflows.

The advice Ashworth now gives to other corporates is to start with a limited use case but keep the long-term objective in mind. Working closely with banking partners was critical, as was identifying those repetitive processes where paper added little value.

One of Matalan’s early successes involved digitising a promissory note, which delivered immediate efficiency gains. According to Ashworth, the company saved two days instantly and a further two days by accelerating document release. Those early wins built internal momentum, helping the company expand digital processes to acceptances and bills of exchange.

Ashworth said, “We’re doing all our acceptances now digitally… we have increased tremendously our digital acceptances.”

Internal buy-in also evolved over time as what began as a project that senior leadership viewed with cautious curiosity gradually gained traction as the benefits became clear. Ashworth credited support from colleagues across finance leadership for allowing the initiative to grow.

She said, “When we first brought this up to them, they were like, we don’t know what you’re on about, but we’ll let you get on with it. As things have moved on, they’ve started to get more of an understanding how complex trade is.”

For Ashworth, it has become evident that digital trade need not always begin with a grand strategy. Sometimes, it can start with a real problem, a willingness to question established processes, and the persistence to try something new.