Users of commercial documentary letters of credit will soon discover an efficient alternative.
Paperless presentations against letters of credit have long been a dream of the buyers and sellers who use them and the banks that issue and examine them. Besides the nuisance of manually examining paper, conventional letter of credit processing has the unintended consequence of tying up the documents that are often needed for carrier release and customs clearance. Faster transit times and a shift from paper to electronic documentation by carriers and customs authorities increase the need for a better system.
A previous attempt toward paperless letters of credit, the International Chamber of Commerce’s e-UCP, failed to catch on and was probably too far ahead of institutional capacity. However, a new protocol has been established that parallels much of the letter of credit process.
ICC Uniform Rules for Bank Payment Obligations (URBPO) is a new system of bank guarantees created by the International Chamber of Commerce and SWIFT in 2013. Similar to letters of credit, these guarantees are issued by banks on behalf of their importer customers through designated banks in suppliers’ countries. Rather than calling for paper documents, these electronic guarantees require a successful matching of electronic data elements corresponding to the completion of stipulated beneficiary obligations. Successful completion of the matchup triggers the guarantee, much the same as successful presentations against documentary letters of credit.
The big question was would this process gain acceptance. The results are in and they are positive. At the November 2014 International Chamber of Commerce Banking Commission meeting, it was determined that at least 16 banks and a number of corporate users are now successfully using URBPO. Look for this trend to continue as URBPO becomes more widely understood and accepted worldwide.
Frank J. Reynolds, President, International Projects