There are four methods in international trade payment against export. Those are: Cash in Advance or prepayment; Open Account; Documentary Collection; and Documentary Letter of Credit (LC).
The foreign exchange transaction of Bangladesh for both import and export are generally made through Letter of Credit. The Import & Export Policy, Foreign Exchange Regulation Act 1947 and rule of Central Bank encourage importers, exporters and Commercial Banks to make transaction through LC. For example, a) import without LC is restricted for up to $35,000 per year and to some restricted items like books, journals, etc., and b) import against advanced payment is comparatively complex and subject to prior approval from Bangladesh Bank (BB) and for limited amount only. The export proceeds must come to Bangladesh within four (4) months of export otherwise the exporter and bankers will be held responsible. Considering the situation, LC is the most popular international trade payment method in Bangladesh.
Payment against LC is a more secure method for an exporter than open account trading, as the exporter's documents are sent from the exporter's bank to the importer's bank involving many banks in transaction. LC is believed to be secure for making payment and reportedly distributes risks in most balanced way in which both exporters and importers are almost equally protected. But the cost of transactions are very high due to involvement of banks and also because of many formalities and documentations. The Cash in Advance or prepayment method payment is expected by the exporter, in full, prior to goods being shipped. This is the most secure method of payment for the exporters and consequently the least attractive for importers.
Open Account transaction occurs on the basis of contract. Seller ships consignments without payment or LC and buyer sends money according to agreed terms of payment. Open Account is the least secure method of payment for the exporters. But it is the most attractive method for the importers. It is equally attractive to both importers and exporters as it is less expensive for transaction. Unfortunately, Open Account is not allowed.
Exporters of Bangladesh use LC in 60 per cent cases and only 30 per cent transactions against Payment against Documents (PAD), a setup in which the buyer can receive delivery documents only after the full payment of the bill of invoice used. The rest transaction of about 5.0 per cent is by Cash in Advance. There is another method of USANCE LC with payment at sight by local banks but deferred payment by the overseas importers. The commercial bank do not issue 'EXP form' only after duly recording in Export Register as per guidelines of Bangladesh Bank. Statutory declaration is to be furnished by exporters under FE Regulation Act, 1947 before shipment of goods about possible transaction of foreign exchange. The exporter has to declare that they have made arrangements for the realisation of the export proceeds of the goods declared on this form within the stipulated period. Exporters also declare that they are satisfied about the bona fides of the importers/consignees abroad and their credentials, etc.
Though Open Account is widely used in trades among developed countries, its use in Bangladesh is completely absent. Absence or insignificant cases of use of Cash in Advance and Open Account might be attributed to the regulatory requirement of the country, relative bargaining power, reputation of the country's traders and mutual trust and relationship of the domestic traders with their overseas counterparts.
Interestingly, the Open Account for import is allowed but there is hardly any such transaction. Again, importers cannot remit money in advance against documents up to a nominal amount of a few thousand dollars per annum.
The credential of Bangladesh is very poor in the global market. US government advised all US exporters to export to government or private companies against irrevocable, confirmed LCs to secure payment, preferably from a US bank unless the importer is a multinational company operating in Bangladesh or a reliable, long-standing Bangladeshi customer. This is true whether the importer is a private firm or part of the government and whether or not a multilateral institution or bilateral donor agency or government is financing the importer.
An Open Account transaction means that the goods are shipped and delivered before payment is due by an agreed date as per contract between the buyer and the seller, usually in 30 to 90 days. It gives an advantage to the buyer in cash flow and cost terms, but it is consequently the highest-risk option for an exporter. The extension of credit by the seller to the buyer is more common in transactions. The exporters can attract more buyers with competitive price and favourable payment terms. Exporters also offer better price for order against payment by deferred open account. Because of the intense competition for export markets, foreign buyers often press exporters for open account terms. These transactions are also possible after thoroughly examining the political, economic, and commercial risks, as well as cultural influences to ensure that payment will be received in full and on time.
There are many remedies for exporters for transaction against Open Account. Open Account terms may be offered with the use of one or more of trade finance techniques: (1) Export Working Capital Financing, (2) Government-Guaranteed Export Working Capital Programs, (3) Export Credit Insurance, (4) Export Factoring, and (5) Usance LC.
The Export Working Capital Financing offered to the exporter, who lacks sufficient liquidity, needs export working capital financing that covers the entire cash cycle from purchase of raw materials through the ultimate collection of the sales proceeds. Export working capital facilities can be provided to support export sales in the form of a loan or revolving line of credit. The government may guarantee such Export Working Capital Programmes. Bangladesh has no such scheme for export finance.
Export credit insurance provides protection against commercial losses-default, insolvency, bankruptcy, and political losses-war, nationalisation, currency inconvertibility, etc. It allows exporters to increase sales by offering liberal open account terms to new and existing customers. Insurance also provides security for banks providing working capital and financing exports. Bangladesh has identical Exports Finance Guarantee scheme for bankers not for exporters. Sadharan Bima Corporation has introduced Export Credit Guarantee scheme to promote national exports and offering guarantees to banks and financial institutions to enable exporters to obtain easily better loan facilities from them both at the pre-shipment & post-shipment stage.
Factoring in international trade is the discounting of a short-term receivable under certain law of the countries involved in transaction. The exporter transfers title to its short-term foreign accounts receivable to a factoring house for cash at a discount from the face value. It allows an exporter to ship on open account as the factor assumes the financial ability of the importer to pay and handle collection on the receivables. Bangladesh does not have any such law or rule to guarantee of payment for transactions.
Usance LC is a method of trade financing that allows the exporter to sell his medium-term receivables to financial institutions (FIs) at a discount, in exchange for cash. With this method, the FI assumes all the risks, enabling the exporter to extend Open Account terms and incorporate the discount into the selling price. Exporters of Bangladesh get this banking product from banks but subject to mortgage of security against high interest rate.
These methods of Export Working Capital Financing, Government-Guaranteed Export Working Capital Programs, Export Credit Insurance, Export Factoring, and Usance are very useful to promote our export and make the payment secure. According to a report in the Financial Express, First Security Islami Bank (FSIB) has entered into a unique agreement with Prima Dollar Finance Ltd, a British non-banking financial institution (NBFI), for export trade finance. Prima Dollar will make the payment as sight to exporters in Bangladesh and collect the payment from importers after agreed period. Prima Dollar will check the credibility of importers and stand guarantee of payment. They are also promoting export against documents and propose to guarantee the payment against open account transaction. Their offered financial products are close to Open Account. Although Open Account is not allowed in Bangladesh, customers can now try 'Open Account-like' transactions on a limited scale since there is a guarantee of payment by an overseas NBFI.
M S Siddiqui is a Legal Economist.