Payment Options

When specifying your payment choice, please be clear and completely define the payment instrument as presented in the following examples:

1) BG 100% payable instrument: by irrevocable, transferable and confirmed (conditional or unconditional, as per contract terms) Bank Guarantee (BG), in the total amount of the contract (100%) or in the agreed amount as per contract, issued or guaranteed by one of the top 25 world banks, 100% payable at sight, at the Seller’s Bank, against presentation of shipping and/or other contract documents.

2) FFSBLC : by irrevocable, transferable and confirmed Fully Funded Stand By Letter of Credit (FFSBLC), in the total amount of the contract, issued or guaranteed by one of the top 25 world banks 100% payable at sight, at the Seller’s Bank, against presentation of shipping documents, as per contract.

3) FFDLC : by irrevocable, transferable, divisible and confirmed Fully Funded Stand-By Letter of Credit (FFSBLC), in the total amount of the contract (100%) or in the agreed amount, as per contract, issued or guaranteed by one of the top 25 world banks 100% payable at sight, at the Seller’s Bank, against presentation of shipping and/or other contract documents.

4) FFRDLC : by irrevocable, transferable, divisible and confirmed Fully Funded Revolving Documentary Letter of Credit (FFRDLC), issued or guaranteed by one of the top 25 world banks, in the amount corresponding to the monthly shipment, revolving the number of months specified in contract, payable at sight, at the Seller’s Bank, against presentation of shipping and/or other contract documents. The Seller may require a guarantee for securing the Buyer’s commitment in fulfilling the contract which can be represented by a Bank Guarantee (BG) or a Stand-By Letter of Credit (SBLC). In case no guarantee is required by the Seller, the price of the commodity is normally much higher.

5) TT/SWIFT : by direct funds transfer via Bank T/T (KTT or SWIFT) in the amount corresponding to the monthly shipment, from one of the top 25 world banks, 100% payable at sight, at the Seller’s Bank, against presentation of shipping and/or other contract documents. The Seller may require a guarantee for securing the Buyer’s commitment in fulfilling the contract which can be represented by a Bank Guarantee (BG) or a Stand-By Letter of Credit (SBLC).

6) SWIFT MT103.23 : by irrevocable and conditional SWIFT payment instrument, 100% payable at sight, at the Seller’s Bank, against presentation of shipping and/or other contract documents or Commercial Invoice.

7) Other Payment Instruments: please, specify completely, even if using direct deposit, Bank T/T, or other SWIFT transactions as payment instruments.

Approximately 95% of all requests we receive are rejected due to inconsistencies found on them. Therefore, to avoid frustration and save precious communication time, please make sure the following is observed:

• The requests must be presented in a complete Irrevocable Corporate Purchase Order (ICPO) or letter of Intent (LOI), in the Company’s letterhead (Corporate official stationery with full address and contact information), containing full banking information (including Account holder, bank address and officer’s contact information, SWIFT Code, account coordinates, etc.) and must include explicit authorization for soft-probe (not necessary for oil transactions);

• The Bank Comfort Letter (BCL) must be provided. A valid BCL must be issued in the Bank Letterhead, signed by two (2) bank officers, including full banking coordinates, and stating clearly that the Account Holder is Ready, Willing and Able (RWA) to undergo the transaction proposed (clearly identified including the product description, total volume and monthly volume transacted), and the total amount of the contract (clearly specified);

• Note: some Sellers will agree with a RWA Letter from the Bank, which are frequently transmitted to the Seller’s Bank via SWIFT MT 799. Other generic letter terms, such as a simple referral letters indicating the good standing of the Account Holder in the banking institution, have no value as BCL. In case a RWA is presented, instead of BCL, the decision to send RWA bank to bank must be stated in the ICPO/LOI body text. The names, positions and contact information of the two (2) Bank officers signing the BCL/RWA must be clearly indicated;

• The ICPO/LOI must be signed and stamped. The names and positions of the Company officers signing the LOI/ICPO must be clearly indicated. Otherwise, the document has no legal value;

• The documents must be fresh (recent date – the most 3-5 days old max.);

• VERY IMPORTANT, the letterhead of the Company requesting the commodity must correspond to the Bank Account Holder on the banking information provided.

These points will help you in verifying the legitimacy of the documentation provided. If your documents DO NOT PASS these verification points, please discuss them with your Buyers and get them corrected, immediately. This will save time in our process. Otherwise, your documents will be rejected.