How Does the Letter of Credit Process Work ?

How Does the Letter of Credit Process Work?


The seller (known in the Letter of Credit as the "Beneficiary") advises the buyer (known in the Letter of Credit as the "Applicant") that the purchase order is acceptable. The Beneficiary also sends the Applicant a copy of their "Letter of Credit Guidelines" to ensure that the credit is opened properly and will not require any costly amendments.

A Letter of Credit Application is completed by the Applicant and is submitted to their Bank (the Opening Bank).

The Letter of Credit is issued and sent by the Opening Bank to an Advising Bank in the country of the Beneficiary. The main role of an advising bank is to check the authenticity of the Letter of Credit before it is advised to the Beneficiary.

The Advising Bank then sends a copy of the Letter of Credit to the Beneficiary, either electronically, by fax, or by mail.

The Beneficiary must now carefully review the requirements of the Letter of Credit to ensure it has been issued per the agreed terms. The Beneficiary should make sure that they can comply with all stipulations, such as shipping terms, documentary requirements, shipping and/or expiration dates and packing and marking conditions.

If the Letter of Credit has terms that are not per the agreement, the Beneficiary should request an amendment to the Letter of Credit. This request is made directly to the Applicant, who then instructs the Opening Bank to amend the Letter of Credit.

Once the Letter of Credit is in order and the shipment is ready for export, the Beneficiary ships the goods to the freight forwarder.

The seller (or third party, such as LC Solutions) can now begin preparation of documentation required under the Letter of Credit terms.

After goods have shipped, the transport document is acquired by the Beneficiary (or LC Solutions), is checked for accuracy, matched up with other created documentation, and presented to the Negotiating Bank. (The Negotiating Bank may or may not be the same as the Advising Bank, depending on the requirements of the Letter of Credit and the wishes of the Beneficiary.)

The Negotiating Bank checks over the documentation and advises any problems they may find with the paperwork. They then either issue payment to the Beneficiary, or forward the documents to the Opening Bank for payment, depending on the terms of the Letter of Credit.