The UK's shift to paperless trade was meant to benefit small firms, but three years on, they remain largely untouched by the reforms.
Under the Electronic Trade Documents Act 2023, the UK became the first G7 country to give digital trade documents full legal status, promising smaller exporters lower courier fees, reduced administration, and better access to trade finance.
The potential benefits are significant, with the World Trade Organisation estimating that a typical cross-border transaction requires the exchange of 36 documents and 240 copies of paperwork.
However, research has found that awareness of the reforms among small business owners is low, and most simply follow whatever their courier asks for rather than driving change themselves.
Experts believe that widespread adoption of electronic trade documentation will only happen once Customs authorities, carriers, and ports stop issuing physical paper, and that voluntary adoption by small businesses will not scale without co-ordinated action by the government and large supply chain actors.
Major players are already making the shift, with the use of electronic bills of lading doubling since 2023, largely thanks to major commodity traders and shipping lines.
Nine of the biggest carriers, representing 75 per cent of global capacity, have committed to 100 per cent digital adoption by 2030.
Despite this, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face a practical catch: even where digital documents are legally accepted, other parties still require paper originals for certain steps, forcing early adopters to run costly hybrid paper and digital processes.
Overseas banks and trading partners may also reject UK digital documents due to a lack of software to verify them.
The government's message on improved access to trade finance has not resonated with SME owners, who are more interested in direct savings on courier fees and less red tape.
The findings have prompted the British Chambers of Commerce to call for paper documentation to be phased out and for closer co-ordination with the UK's leading trading partners.
The chamber's head of trade policy, William Bain, said the research paints a clear picture: governments must work together better to advance digital trade.
He added that it is a travesty that far too few SMEs are taking advantage of the time and cost savings that a shift to online documentation can bring, and that more resources need to be invested in implementation by the government.
The stakes for getting smaller firms trading efficiently are considerable, given Britain's £74 billion slump in goods exports since Brexit.
