payment.docx

payment.docx

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payment

PrudentCreditPractices

Anexperiencedexportingfirmextendscreditcautiously.Itevaluatesnewcustomerswithcareandcontinuouslymonitorsolderaccounts.Suchafirmmaywiselydecidetodeclineacustomer'srequestforopenaccountcreditiftheriskistoogreatandproposeinsteadpaymentondeliverytermsthroughadocumentarysightdraftorirrevocableconfirmedletterofcreditorevenpaymentinadvance.Ontheotherhand,forafullycreditworthycustomer,theexperiencedexportermaydecidetoallowamonthortwotopay,perhapsevenonopenaccount.

Othergoodcreditpracticesincludebeingawareofanyunfavorablechangesinyourcustomers'paymentpatterns,refrainingfromgoingbeyondnormalcommercialterms,andconsultingwithyourinternationalbankernhowtocopewithunusualcircumstancesorindifficultmarkets.Itisalwaysadvisabletocheckabuyer'scredit（evenifsafestpaymentmethodsareemployed）.ADepartmentofCommerceInternationalCompanyProfile（ICP）（seeChapter5）providesusefulinformationforcreditchecks.Forafee,anICPmayberequestedonforeigncompaniesinmanycountries.Itcontainsfinancialinformationonthecompanyandadiscussionregardingitssize,capitalization,yearsinbusiness,andotherinformationsuchascitingsomeU.S.companiesthatconductbusinesswiththefirm.TheexportercanthencontacttheU.S.companiestofindoutabouttheirpaymentexperiencewiththeforeignfirm.

ICPsarenotavailableineverycountry,andintheseinstances,EACscanprovidealistofprivatecreditreportingservices.ThereareseveralU.S.companiesthatcompilefinancialinformationonforeignfirms（particularlylargerfirms）andmakeitavailabletotheirsubscribers.Also,banksaresometimesabletoprovidecreditreportsonforeigncompanies,eitherthroughtheirownforeignbranchesorthroughacorrespondentbank.

Asbeingpaidinfullandontimeisoftheutmostconcerntoexporters,thelevelofriskinextendingcreditisamajorconsideration.Thereareseveralwaysinwhichyoucanreceivepaymentwhensellingyourproductsabroad,dependingonhowtrustworthyyouconsiderthebuyertobe.Typicallywithdomesticsales,ifthebuyerhasgoodcredit,salesaremadeonopenaccount;ifnot,cashinadvanceisrequired.Forexportsales,thesewaysarenottheonlycommonmethods.Listedinorderfrommostsecurefortheexportertotheleastsecure,thebasicmethodsofpaymentare:

1.Cashinadvance;

2.Documentaryletterofcredit;

3.Documentarycollectionordraft;

4.Openaccount;and

5.Otherpaymentmechanisms,suchasconsignmentsales.

CashinAdvance

Receivingpaymentbycashinadvanceoftheshipmentmightseemideal.Inthissituation,theexporterisrelievedofcollectionproblemsandhasimmediateuseofthemoney.Awiretransferiscommonlyusedandhastheadvantageofbeingalmostimmediate.Paymentbycheck,mayresultinacollectiondelayofuptosixweeks.Therefore,thismethodmaydefeattheoriginalintentionofreceivingpaymentbeforeshipment.

Manyexportersacceptcreditcardsinpaymentforexportsofconsumerandotherproducts,generallyofalowfollarvalue,solddirectlytotheenduser.Domesticandinternationalrulesgoverningcreditcardtransactionssometimesdiffer,soU.S.merchantsshouldcontacttheircreditcardprocessorformorespecificinformation.Internationalcreditcardtransactionsaretypicallydonebytelephoneorfax.Duetothenatureofthesemethods,exportersshouldbeawareoffraud.Merchantsshoulddeterminethevalidityoftransactionsandobtaintheproperauthorizations.

Forthebuyer,however,advancepaymenttendstocreatecashflowproblems,aswellasincreaserisks.Furthermore,cashinadvanceisnotascommoninmostoftheworldasitisintheUnitedStates.Buyersareoftenconcernedthatthegoodsmaynotbesentifpaymentismadeinadvance.Exportersthatinsistonthismethodofpaymentastheirsolemethodofdoingbusinessmayfindthemselveslosingouttocompetitorswhooffermoreflexiblepaymentterms.

DocumentaryLettersofCredit

andDocumentaryDrafts

Documentarylettersofcreditordocumentarydraftsareoftenusedtoprotecttheinterestsofbothbuyerandseller.Thesetwomethodsrequirethatpaymentbemadebasedonthepresentationofdocumentsconveyingthetitleandthatspecificstepshavebeentaken.Lettersofcreditanddraftscanbepaidimmediatelyoratalaterdate.Draftsthatarepaiduponpresentationarecalledsightdrafts.Draftsthataretobepaidatalaterdate,oftenafterthebuyerreceivesthegoods,arecalledtimedraftsordatedrafts.

Sincepaymentbythesetwomethodsismadeonthebasisofdocuments,alltermsofpaymentshouldbeclearlyspecifiedinordertoavoidconfusionanddelay.Forexample,"net30days"shouldbespecifiedas"30daysfromacceptance."Likewise,thecurrencyofpaymentshouldbespecifiedas"US$30,000."Internationalbankerscanofferothersuggestions.

Bankschargefees-basedmainlyonapercentageoftheamountofpayment-forhandlinglettersofcreditandsmalleramountsforhandlingdrafts.IffeeschargedbyboththeforeignandU.S.banksaretobeappliedtothebuyer'saccount,thisshouldbeexplicitlystatedinallquotationsandintheletterofcredit.

Theexporterusuallyexpectsthebuyertopaythechargesfortheletterofcredit,butsomebuyersmaynotagreetothisaddedcost.Insuchcases,theexportermusteitherabsorbthecostsoftheletterofcreditorrisklosingthatpotentialsale.Lettersofcreditforsmalleramountscanbesomewhatexpensivesincefeescanbehighrelativetothesale.

LettersofCredit

Aletterofcreditaddsabank'spromisetopaytheexportertothatoftheforeignbuyerprovidedthattheexporterhascompliedwithallthetermsandconditionsoftheletterofcredit.Theforeignbuyerappliesforissuanceofaletterofcreditfromthebuyer'sbanktotheexporter'sbankandthereforeiscalledtheapplicant;theexporteriscalledthebeneficiary.

Paymentunderadocumentaryletterofcreditisbasedondocuments,notonthetermsofsaleorthephysicalconditionofthegoods.Theletterofcreditspecifiesthedocumentsthatarerequiredtobepresentedbytheexporter,suchasanoceanbilloflading（originalandseveralcopies）,consularinvoice,draft,andaninsurancepolicy.Theletterofcreditalsocontainsanexpirationdate.Beforepayment,thebankresponsibleformakingpayment,verifiesthatalldocumentconformtotheletterofcreditrequirements.Ifnot,thediscrepancymustberesolvedbeforepaymentcanbemadeandbeforetheexpirationdate.

AletterofcreditissuedbyaforeignbankissometimesconfirmedbyaU.S.bank.ThisconfirmationmeansthattheU.S.bank（theconfirmingbank）,addsitspromisetopaytothatoftheforeignbank（theissuingbank）.Ifalettersofcreditisnotconfirmed,itisadvisedthroughaU.S.bankandthuscalledanadvisedletterofcredit.U.S.exportersmaywishtoconfirmlettersofcreditissuedbyforeignbanksiftheyareunfamiliarwiththeforeignbanksorconcernedaboutthepoliticaloreconomicriskassociatedwiththecountryinwhichthebankislocated.AnExportAssistanceCenterorinternationalbankercanassistexportersinevaluatingtheriskstodeterminewhatmightbeappropriateforspecificexporttransactions.

Aletterofcreditmayeitherbeirrevocableandthus,unabletobechangedunlessbothpartiesagree;orrevocablewhereeitherpartymayunilaterallymakechanges.Arevocableletterofcreditisinadvisableasitcarriesmanyrisksfortheexporter.

Achangemadetoaletterofcreditafterithasbeenissuediscalledanamendment.Banksalsochargefeesforthisservice.Itshouldbespecifiedintheamendmentiftheexporterorthebuyerwillpaythesecharges.Everyeffortshouldbemadetogettheletterofcreditrightthefirsttimesincethesechangescanbetime-consumingandexpensive.

Toexpeditethereceiptoffunds,wiretransfersmaybeused.Exportersshouldconsultwiththeirinternationalbankersaboutbankchargesforsuchservices.

ATypicalLetterofCreditTransaction

HerearethetypicalstepsofanirrevocableletterofcreditthathasbeenconfirmedbyaU.S.bank:

oAftertheexporterandbuyeragreeonthetermsofasale,thebuyerarrangesforitsbanktoopenaletterofcreditthatspecifiesthedocumentsneededforpayment.Thebuyerdetermineswhichdocumentswillberequired.

oThebuyer'sbankissues,oropens,itsirrevocableletterofcreditincludesallinstructionstothesellerrelatingtotheshipment.

oThebuyer'sbanksendsitsirrevocableletterofcredittoaU.S.bankandrequestsconfirmation.TheexportermayrequestthataparticularU.S.bankbetheconfirmingbank,ortheforeignbankmayselectaU.S.correspondentbank.

oTheU.S.bankpreparesaletterofconfirmationtoforwardtotheexporteralongwiththeirrevocableletterofcredit.

oTheexporterreviewscarefullyallconditionsintheletterofcredit.Theexporter'sfreightforwarderiscontactedtomakesurethattheshippingdatecanbemet.Iftheexportercannotcomplywithoneormoreoftheconditions,thecustomerisalertedatonce.

oTheexporterarrangeswiththefreightforwardertodeliverthegoodstotheappropriateportorairport.

oWhenthegoodsareloaded,thefreightforwardercompletesthenecessarydocumentation.

oTheexporter（orthefreightforwarder）presentsthedocuments,evidencingfullcompliancewiththeletterofcreditterms,totheU.S.bank.

oThebankreviewsthedocuments.Iftheyareinorder,thedocumentsaresenttothebuyer'sbankforreviewandthentransmittedtothebuyer.

oThebuyer（orthebuy