Writing on letters of credit and trade
Practical guides for exporters working with letters of credit, based on UCP 600, ISBP 821 and real cases.
Fundamentals
What a letter of credit is, its rules, and how it differs from other payment methods.
5 minLetter of credit charges: who pays and how to cut them
The cost of a letter of credit is not just the issuance fee. Advising, confirmation, amendment and discrepancy charges often land on the exporter. What they are, who pays, and how to reduce them.
- LC charges
- LC fees
- 71D
- confirmation fee
- letter of credit
5 minTypes of letters of credit: 10 types explained
Letter of credit types sort along four questions: who gives the security, when the money arrives, how the credit is structured, and whether it has a special purpose. Ten types, from the exporter's side.
- types of letters of credit
- LC types
- LC financing
- confirmed LC
- UCP 600
5 minPayment methods in international trade: which one when?
Choosing a payment method is deciding who carries the risk. We put the four main methods on a single risk scale and explain which one makes sense for which buyer and market.
- payment methods
- LC payment
- documentary collection
- open account
- export
6 minUCP 600 explained: 10 articles every exporter should know
You don't need to memorise all 39 articles of UCP 600. But ten of them decide whether you get paid under a letter of credit. Here they are, and how they work in practice.
- UCP 600
- letter of credit rules
- ISBP 821
- letter of credit
- export
5 minDeferred payment LC: tenor, discounting and risks
Under a deferred payment credit, a complying presentation doesn't bring payment, it starts a clock. How the tenor is written, what forces an amendment, and how discounting gets you paid early.
- deferred payment LC
- usance LC
- LC discounting
- UCP 600
- letter of credit
- 9 min
What is a letter of credit? Meaning and how LC payment works
A letter of credit is simple at heart: present the right documents under the rules and the bank pays. But the real work is on paper, not in the goods. What it is and how it works, step by step.
- letter of credit
- what is a letter of credit
- letter of credit meaning
- LC payment
- UCP 600
Before issuance: text and confirmation
Risks to resolve before you accept the text and before you ship.
5 minLC draft checklist: 12 questions before you accept
The cheapest fix to a letter of credit is made while it is still a draft. Twelve questions to ask before you accept, mapped to the MT700 fields.
- LC draft review
- letter of credit checklist
- MT700
- UCP 600
- letter of credit
5 minLetters of credit in high-risk markets: 6 key risks
In a high-risk market, a letter of credit alone is not security. Issuing bank, country, document and sanctions risk must be weighed together. Six risks to check before you sell, and how to handle each.
- high-risk markets
- country risk
- confirmed LC
- sanctions screening
- export
5 minConfirmed letter of credit: what it is and when you need one
An issued letter of credit is not a payment guarantee. If the issuing bank cannot pay, the risk stays with you. How confirmation moves that risk, when it is essential and the traps to watch for.
- confirmed letter of credit
- confirmation
- UCP 600
- letter of credit
- export
- 7 min
Three silent risks that stall payment under an LC
Most risks that stall collection come not from big mistakes but from three silent risks you can catch before issuance. We walk through two real transactions.
- letter of credit
- confirmation
- origin
- amendment
- export
Shipment and presentation
Document preparation, deadlines and presentation without discrepancies.
5 minThe 10 most common LC discrepancies and how to avoid them
Most discrepancies come from the same ten mistakes, and nearly all of them can be caught before presentation. The discrepancies banks raise most often, and how to prevent each one.
- LC discrepancies
- discrepancy
- document examination
- UCP 600
- ISBP 821
5 minLC deadlines: latest shipment, presentation and expiry
Your documents can be perfect and a single day's delay still puts payment at risk. How the latest shipment date, presentation period and expiry date are calculated under UCP 600, with an example.
- LC deadlines
- presentation period
- latest shipment date
- UCP 600
- letter of credit
5 minCertificates of origin under an LC: EUR.1, EUR.MED, A.TR
The origin document is one of the most fragile documents under a letter of credit. Which document is required when, how it can conflict with the credit's own origin wording, and how to plan the certification chain.
- certificate of origin
- EUR.1
- EUR.MED
- A.TR
- letter of credit
- 6 min
How to Prevent Discrepancies in a Letter of Credit
Most discrepancies come not from bank strictness but from document and text issues — meaning they can be prevented long before presentation. Here's how.
- letter of credit
- discrepancy
- export
- UCP 600
Have a draft letter of credit in your favour? Send it to us for a free preliminary review before you accept it.
Send your draft