Bensa Bank fills the trade finance gap left by traditional institutions
London remains a key trade hub despite post-Brexit regulatory divergence
As UK-EU trade continues to adjust to new customs procedures and regulatory divergence, London-based trading firms have had to fundamentally restructure their operations. Salah Benhacene, Managing Director of London Bensa Ltd, represents a category of operators who have turned Brexit-era complexity into a competitive advantage by specializing in cross-border facilitation services.
London Bensa operates as a trade intermediary connecting European manufacturers with international suppliers across multiple jurisdictions. The firm's core function is handling the compliance burden that has deterred smaller operators from cross-border transactions since the UK's departure from the Single Market. This includes customs documentation, tariff classification, rules of origin verification, and coordinating logistics across fragmented regulatory regimes.
Post-Brexit trade flows between the UK and EU have declined in both directions, with administrative friction cited as a primary factor. For businesses without dedicated trade compliance departments, the cost of navigating customs procedures, VAT accounting, product standards verification, and phytosanitary certificates can exceed the margin on smaller transactions.
Intermediaries like London Bensa extract value by consolidating this complexity. By processing transactions at scale, the firm spreads fixed compliance costs across multiple clients, making cross-border trade economically viable for businesses that would otherwise source domestically or abandon certain markets entirely.
Parallel to his trading operations, Benhacene has established Bensa Bank (bensa.mu), a digital banking platform targeting the financial infrastructure gap in cross-border commerce. Traditional banks have retreated from trade finance in recent years due to regulatory costs and low profitability, creating openings for specialized FinTech entrants.
Bensa Bank fills the trade finance gap left by traditional institutions
The platform's focus is on payment processing, multi-currency accounts, and trade finance instruments for SMEs engaged in international transactions. This reflects a broader trend where non-bank entities are providing services historically reserved for licensed financial institutions, enabled by regulatory frameworks like open banking and electronic money licenses.
Despite Brexit-related disruptions, London retains advantages as a trade facilitation center: legal infrastructure rooted in English common law, deep capital markets, concentration of trade finance expertise, and time zone positioning between Asian and American markets. Firms like London Bensa and the broader Group Bensa structure (groupbensa.com) leverage this infrastructure while operating across jurisdictions that no longer benefit from frictionless Single Market access.
The sustainability of this model depends on whether efficiency gains from specialization can offset the structural disadvantages of operating outside EU customs and regulatory frameworks. As UK-EU trade relations stabilize and businesses adapt to the new environment, the competitive landscape for trade intermediaries will clarify whether Brexit created a permanent arbitrage opportunity or a temporary adjustment phase.