Documentary Credit
Bank undertaking to honour a complying presentation under an LC. Useful where parties need structured documentary payment conditions.
Understand LCs and SBLCs →
International trade requires more than a buyer and seller. It needs a workable payment method, reliable documents, logistics coordination, funding and risk controls.
Bank undertaking to honour a complying presentation under an LC. Useful where parties need structured documentary payment conditions.
Understand LCs and SBLCs →Bank-to-bank handling of shipping and commercial documents under D/P or D/A instructions. It does not create a bank payment undertaking.
Goods ship before payment falls due. Export credit insurance, factoring or receivables finance may help manage buyer risk and cash flow.
Working capital before shipment or funding against eligible export receivables after shipment, subject to lender underwriting.
Buyer-led payables finance and supplier finance programmes can improve working capital when participants, pricing and recourse are transparent.
Bid, performance, advance-payment and payment guarantees support contractual obligations when correctly structured and issued by acceptable banks.
Agree product specifications, price, Incoterms® rule, shipment window, insurance and dispute terms.
Choose advance payment, open account, collection or documentary credit based on counterparty and country risk.
Each bank conducts KYC, sanctions, AML, credit and transaction checks before deciding whether to proceed.
Prepare invoices, transport documents, packing lists, certificates and insurance documents exactly as required.
Present documents within deadlines, resolve discrepancies and track payment or maturity under the agreed terms.
Exact requirements depend on goods, origin, destination, customs rules, contract, transport mode and bank instrument.
Sales contract or purchase order, commercial invoice, packing list, product specifications and price schedule.
Bill of lading, air waybill, road consignment note or other transport evidence, as appropriate.
Certificate of origin, inspection, health, phytosanitary, quality, export licence or import permit where required.
Insurance certificate, LC text, draft/bill of exchange, bank collection instruction and financing/security documents.
A bank examining a documentary credit generally checks the presentation against the credit and applicable rules. It does not physically inspect the goods. Parties must separately manage product quality, fraud, shipping, sanctions, customs and counterparty risks.
Outline the commodity, countries, approximate transaction value, shipment timing and preferred payment terms. Do not send passwords, full account details or unredacted confidential documents by email.