Documentary Credit is a payment technique whereby a bank commits
itself, on behalf of its client (the importer), to pay to a
beneficiary (the exporter) within a fixed period, the price of
goods / services against the delivery by the exporter of previously
agreed and compliant documents proving the value and shipment of
the goods / services.
The Documentary Credit is used when the transaction amounts are
very high or when one party has doubts about the morality or
solvency of the other. It provides security for both the exporter
and the importer. The seller (the exporter) receives an advance
assurance of payment upon presentation of documents listed in the
agreement, and the buyer is assured that the bank will not pay
unless the seller has submitted all the documents strictly
complying with the documentary credit. The credit worthiness of the
importer is substituted by the guaranty of a bank (usually his own
bank).
Documentary Credit, also called a Letter of Credit, is subject
to the Uniform Rules and Practices of the International Chamber of
Commerce. The term “Letter of Credit” or the abbreviation “L/C” is
predominantly used in the USA while Europeans prefer to use
“Documentary Credit” or the abbreviation “D/C”.
There are many types of documentary credits. In its main forms,
a documentary credit may be revocable or irrevocable, notified or
confirmed.
- the revocable documentary credit: It may be
amended or canceled any time by the importer without the approval
of the exporter. Or the importer’s bank may cancel its commitment
before the goods are shipped. Given the sums generally involved,
the risk for the exporter is significant (Production of goods that
he will not be able to ship because the client or his bank has
retracted). This explains why this form of documentray credit is
almost never used in practice.
- the irrevocable documentary credit: The bank
of the importer makes a firm commitment to pay. This type of
documentary credit cannot be changed or canceled without the
agreement of all parties. The exporter considers the irrevocable
documentary credit as an order confirmation. He can start
manufacturing the goods because he is assured of being paid by the
importer’s banker if he meets all his commitments.
- the notified documentary credit:
Notifying a documentary credit is informing its
beneficiary, the exporter, that it has been issued in its favor.
This notification is made by a bank (called the notifying bank or
advising bank) located in the exporter’s country. It may be the
exporter’s bank, but it is not always the case. When the
documentary credit is notified, only the banker of the importer is
committed to pay. The notifying bank credits the exporter’s account
after receipt of funds from the importer’s bank.
- the confirmed documentary credit: This type of
documentary credit contains a guarantee on the part of both the
issuing and the notifying banks to make the payment to the seller
if the terms of the documentary credit are met. Confirmation is
only added to irrevocable documentary credits. The bank that gives
the second guarantee is called the confirming bank. If he wants a
confirmation, the applicant (the importer) must state this
expressly in his documentary credit application. The confirming
bank assumes the credit risk of the issuing bank as well as the
political and transfer risks of the importer’s country. The
confirming bank is usually the correspondent of the importer’s bank
located in the country of the exporter. Without confirmation of the
documentary credit, the notifying bank just forwards it to the
beneficiary without taking on its own commitment.'