Cash against documents
The documents are worth something before the money arrives.
On a documentary collection your cargo has sailed and the paperwork is in the banking system, but the cash is still weeks away. We fund against those documents at presentation, rather than leaving you to wait out the chain.
For exporters shipping on documentary collection terms.
The problem
You have shipped, and your money is in a courier bag.
Documentary collection is safer than open account and cheaper than a letter of credit, which is why so much trade runs on it. The trade-off is timing. The goods leave, the documents go into the banking chain, and you are paid when the buyer takes them up, which can be weeks after the vessel sails and longer if anything is queried.
During that window you have no goods and no cash, but you do hold a genuinely strong position: the buyer cannot collect the cargo without the documents. That position is exactly what makes it fundable, and it is largely ignored.
Funding against presented documents closes the gap between shipping and settlement without changing the terms you agreed or asking your buyer to do anything differently.
- Funded at presentation rather than at settlement
- Your buyer's terms and process do not change
- Sits alongside invoice finance rather than replacing it
How it works
Present, verify, draw.
The assessment is the document set and the buyer, which is the same ground invoice finance covers.
- 01
Ship and prepare the set
Bill of lading or air waybill, commercial invoice, packing list and whatever certificates the corridor requires. The transport document doing the work here is the one that controls the cargo.
- 02
Send us the set as presented
The same documents going into the collection chain. Fields are read and cross-checked, because a set that will be queried by the collecting bank is a set that delays settlement.
- 03
We assess the buyer and the set
Whether the buyer is good for the amount and likely to take up the documents, and whether the set is clean enough to be taken up without dispute.
- 04
You draw against it
A proportion of the invoice value, in the currency you choose. When the collection settles, the balance is released less the financing cost.
Indicative terms
- At presentation
- When funding is available, not at settlement
- Clean sets
- A set likely to be queried is funded more cautiously
- 30–120 days
- Collection tenors we fund
- 0 changes
- To the terms you agreed with your buyer
Indicative only. Advance rate and pricing depend on the buyer, the corridor, the transport document and the quality of the set. Availability varies by collection structure.
What you need
What makes a set fundable.
Closer to trade document practice than to credit analysis, which is why the document work matters so much here.
- 01 A transport document that controls the cargo
- An original order bill of lading is the strongest position. Straight or consigned-direct documents weaken it considerably, and that changes the terms rather than ruling it out.
- 02 A complete set
- Everything the collection instruction calls for. A missing certificate is a query, and a query is a delay you are financing.
- 03 Consistency across the set
- The same quantities, descriptions and parties throughout. This is the single biggest cause of a collection being held up.
- 04 An assessable buyer
- One we can form a view on, with some record of taking up documents rather than leaving them at the bank.
- 05 A corridor we can work in
- Both the shipping route and the banking chain. Some corridors are materially slower and we will price for that rather than pretend otherwise.
- 06 Identity checks
- KYC and KYB on your company and its signatories, plus sanctions screening through a specialist provider.
Questions
What exporters ask.
How is this different from invoice finance?
Invoice finance advances against the receivable once you have invoiced, typically on open account. This advances against a presented document set in a collection, where the documents themselves control the cargo. Many exporters use both, on different buyers and different terms.
Does my buyer need to know or agree?
The collection runs as it always has. Some structures require the collection to be routed so that settlement reaches us, which does involve a change at the banking level, and we will be explicit about which applies before you sign.
What if the buyer refuses to take up the documents?
That is the central risk in this product and it is why the buyer assessment matters more than the paperwork. Depending on your facility it is recourse to you, or covered within limits set out in the agreement. You should know which one you signed.
Can you fund against a telex release or a surrendered bill?
It is harder, because the control the document gave you has already gone. Tell us up front what the release mechanism is, because discovering it later changes the position materially.
Does this work with a letter of credit instead?
A confirmed letter of credit is a different and usually stronger instrument, and financing against it is a different product. Tell us what you actually ship on and we will say which fits.
How quickly can we draw?
Once the set is verified, in line with invoice finance: usually one to two business days from approval. The variable is document quality, not our process.
Start small
Send us one document set.
One presented set and the buyer's name. We will tell you what we could advance, whether the set would be queried, and roughly what it would cost.
- An indicative answer, usually the same day
- A read on whether your set would survive presentation
- No cost and no obligation to draw