What is the process of applying for a letter of credit with Trade Finance Services?

  1. Fill out our application form
  2. After some paperwork, we will be able to provide you with a quote for the fee and a letter of credit draft.
  3. Get our letter of credit draft accepted with your supplier/beneficiary.
  4. Pay our fees and get indemnity documents signed and notarized.
  5. One of our partner financial institutions will issue your letter of credit and SWIFT it to the beneficiary’s bank.
  6. A beneficiary will send documents back to finance institution and ship your goods to your port of destination.
  7. When the documents arrive, we will fax over the copies of all of the documents to you. At this time we will also check the documents as per the terms. Documents include the bill of lading, invoice, insurance certificate, certificate of origin, and whichever documents you require.
  8. When the goods arrive, if required they go into a bonded warehouse. Here you may inspect the goods. If the goods are satisfactory, you can pay the supplier in exchange for all of the original documents.

Note: In a USANCE letter of credit, you can have up to 1 year to pay your supplier. However, the supplier must agree to the terms before the letter of credit is issued.