Securing payment in international trade

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Securing payment in international trade MS Siddiqui | March 24, 2018 00:00:00

It is more important for exporters in international business to offer appropriate payment methods to their customers. The growingly popular payment method now is cash against document. Buyers are more interested in this method while sellers always look for security of payment and export against contract. There are, however, five primary methods of payment for international transactions.

Export trade presents a spectrum of risk, which causes uncertainty over the timing of payments between the exporter and foreign buyer. For exporters, any sale is not complete until the payment is received. Therefore, exporters want to receive payment as soon as possible - preferably as soon as an order is placed or before the goods are sent to the importer.

For importers, any advance payment is a risk until the goods are received.

Therefore, importers want to receive goods as soon as possible. They also want to make delay in payment as far as possible - preferably until after the goods are resold to generate enough income to p ay the exporter. The modes of payment in international trade include: (a) Cash -in-advance (b) Letter of credit (LC), (c) Collection against documents (d) Open account etc.

The best payment term for exporters are cash -in-advance as it has no credit risk. Such payment gets completed even before transfer of ownership of consignment. However, requiring payment in advance is the least attractive option for the buyer. Because, it creates unfavourable cash flow. Foreign buyers are also concerned that the goods may not be sent if payment is made in advance. Thus, exporters who insist on this payment method as their sole manner of doing business may lose to competitors who offer more attractive payment terms.

Letter of credit (LC) is one of the most secure instrument s available to international traders. An LC is a commitment by a bank on behalf of the buyer that payment will be made to the exporter, provided that the terms and conditions stated in the LC are met, as verified through the presentation of all required documents. The buyer establishes credit and pays to the bank to

open LC as guarantee of payment. An LC is open with reliable credit information about a foreign buyer, but it is difficult to obtain. It also protects the buyer since no payment obligation arise s until the goods are shipped as promised. The LCs have many limitations as the method only deals with documents, but not the actual consignments in practice.

The collection against documents is a transaction whereby the exporter entrusts the collection of payment for sale to its bank (remitting bank), which sends the documents that its buyer needs to the importer's bank (collecting bank), with instructions to release the documents to the buyer for payment.

Funds are received from the importer and remitted to the exporter through the banks involved in the collection in exchange for those documents. The collection letter gives instructions that specify the documents required for the transfer of title to the goods. Banks in both the countries of import and exp ort are used to acting as facilitators for their clients. The process offers no verification and has limited recourse in the event of non -payment. Collection against documents is generally less expensive than the LCs. An open account transaction is a sale where the goods are shipped and delivered even before the payment is due. In international sales with a deferred payment for few days, the time is typically 30, 60 or 90 days.

Obviously, this is one of the most advantageous options to the importer in terms of cash flow and cost, but it is consequently one of the highest risk options for an exporter.

An international consignment transaction is based on a contractual arrangement in which the foreign distributor receives, manages and sells the goods for the exporter who retains title to the goods until those are sold.

Consignment is another form of open account in which payment is sent to the exporter only after the goods have been sold by the overseas buyer/ distributor to the end customer.

Clearly, any export based on consignment is very risky as the payment is not guaranteed in any form of banking system or guarantee. Consignment helps exporters become more competitive on the basis of better availability and faster delivery of goods. Selling on consignment ca n also help exporters reduce the direct costs of storing and managing inventory.

Due to globalisation and improved communications, winning sales against global competitors depend upon attractive sales terms supported by the appropriate payment methods. Hence, an appropriate payment method must be chosen carefully to minimise the payment risk while also accommodating the needs of the buyer.

The cash against documents is easy to implement by the buyer as its formality is considerably less compared to the docu mentary credit and there

is no need for bank credit line. The cost of transition is also low. The bank also doesn't control the documents as contrast to LC. Exporters send the document directly to the buyers. Usually upon arrival of consignment at the destination, buyers are used to collecting documents to take possession of the goods and to clear the shipment at customs. In case of LC, documents are delivered by the banks to the customers only against payment or acceptance of a bill of exchange.

This method is disadvantageous for exporters as banks are not engaged for a documentary credit and hence there is no bank guarantee of payment or insurance on the proper management of the process by the presenting bank.

The bill of exchange may be guaranteed by a ba nk, which provides the supplier with a significantly higher payment security. In a practical sense, the payment is not guaranteed by bank 'until buyers give their acceptance' in writing or take the delivery of the documents.

In case of LC, if any buyer ref uses to take possession of documents and goods, the seller in this case is not paid and finds himself with the materials located in the country of the buyer under his ownership. The unwilling buyers can put an objection to document based on coma, full stop etc to hold the payment. The bank in this case can negotiate with the buyer for payment, but cannot pay until acceptance by the buyer.

Cash against documents is simple, and has low cost option. It is the best of all methods in export trade if the payment is guaranteed. The financial market in developing countries, including Bangladesh, has no mechanism for guarantee of payment in import and export trade. Local banks may secure the payment, against import, to the overseas suppliers against mortgage and involvement of banks in other countries. Use of usance payable at sight (UPAS) LC is such a kind of security against payment for inbound consignments.

The problem of exporter is more acute. The exporters in Bangladesh are in a fix over their global exports and the buyers of Bangladeshi products are paying higher price due to involvement of few intermediary banks like the LC opening bank, LC transmitting bank, LC confirming bank and sometimes a third bank for negotiation in case of lack of contract between banks dealing with Bangladeshi banks. Buyers are also used to taking loan from the date of LC opening and thereby paying interest and different charges. But in case of open account or supply against contract, banks are involved only after acceptance of documents supplied by importers to the exporters. The headache of exporter in this case remains to the extent as to how the payment can be made secure. The foreign exchange regulation and conservative banking culture don't permit such transactions for exports.

The sellers in Bangladesh and buyers in other countries are facing intense competition in overseas markets because of extra bank charges. It is unlike our competitor countries, including Vietnam, which have regulatory protection against the risk of payment for export against contracts or open account.

There are some methods of securing payment and also smoothening transaction against open account or contracts either by way of having insurance coverage or innovative trade finance schemes. Exporters can offer competitive open account terms while substantially mitigating the risk of non payment by using one or more of the appropriate trade finance techniques.

In Bangladesh, a private sector bank named the First Security Islami Bank Limited offers a new trade finance product TASDIR in collaboration with a foreign trade finance company named Prima Dollar. The arrangement stipulates that the overseas partner will make payment to the exporters upon presentation of perfect documents acceptable to the buyer. The overseas partner will collect the proceeds instantly or offer credit to the buyers. This is a deferred payment facility to the buyers. Such arrangement may be a good solution for the exporters and banks in Bangladesh to secure payment for exports and make goods more competitive.

MS Siddiqui is a Legal Economist. Email: mssiddiqui2035@gmail.com