Search form

Documentary credit

If the company operates in the field of export or import, contracting a documentary credit helps improving the commercial relations with the foreign partners.

 

  • Securing the commitments from the international commercial contracts
  • Reliable and safe services due to the BRD team of professionals and its extended network of banking correspondents in over 80 countries
  • Product governed by the international regulatory standards

 


For importers, BRD will ensure: the receipt of merchandise and/or the delivery of services according to the documents required under the documentary credit.
For exporters, BRD will guarantee: the collection of the equivalent value of the delivered merchandise and/or services according to the documents required under the documentary credit.

 

How does the documentary credit work?

Step 1. The buyer (importer) and the seller (exporter) perform the commercial operation by agreeing in the contract on the terms of the operation and by establishing as means of payment the documentary credit.
Step 2. At the request of the importer (ordering party), its bank (the issuing bank) opens the documentary credit in the favor of the exporter (beneficiary), according to the conditions of the commercial contract. The issuing bank sends the text of the documentary credit to the correspondent bank in the exporter’s country (the bank of the beneficiary).
Step 3. The correspondent bank endorses the opening of the documentary credit for the exporter.
Step 4. The exporter sends the merchandise to the importer and presents to its bank all the delivery documents specified in the documentary credit.
Step 5. The correspondent bank checks the documents and makes the payment (if it is a paying or confirming bank) or sends the payment documents to the issuing bank.
Step 6. The correspondent bank sends the documents to the issuing bank.
Step 7. The issuing bank checks the documents and makes the payment (or repays the paying bank) and delivers the documents to the importer against payment.
Step 8. The importer, based on the documents received from the bank, gets the customs clearance and accepts the merchandise.

Is there a list of correspondent banks?

 

Yes, you may find below the list of correspondent banks, as well as certain documents that are useful for the company’s international relationships.

 

Correpondent banks list
Anti-money laundering questionnaire
Patriot Act

 

 

 

What is the documentary credit?
The documentary credit is a payment commitment against documents, undertaken by the bank, for the proper development of the company’s relation with third parties. The parties involved in the ongoing execution of a documentary credit are: the ordering party, the issuing bank, the beneficiary’s bank and the beneficiary.


Types of documentary credit
The letters of credit provided by the bank are:

 

  • Irrevocable letter of credit – which covers against commercial risks
  • Confirmed irrevocable letter of credit – which, in addition to covering  the commercial risks, also covers the risk of insolvency of the issuing bank and the country risks – political and transfer, if the corresponding bank is in another country than the issuing bank.

Types of payment under a documentary credit
You can choose from the following types of payment, depending on the contractual provisions between the company and the commercial correspondent: at sight, at term, by acceptance or by negotiation.