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How To Save Money In Foreign Trade Settlement?

2010/2/10 14:56:00 116

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The cost of bank settlement and its share in the cost of goods in foreign trade has always been a concern of the industry. But some people say that foreign trade is a big business. However, most of the coastal export-oriented enterprises are labor-intensive industries with high risks, high costs, and thin profits. Every dollar must be carefully calculated. They must be used on the knife edge. The cost of settlement of banks is no exception. At the same time, we can not cut corners and reduce the role of banks in the safe and quick collection of foreign exchange, resulting in losses.

As we all know, the rate of fees charged by foreign banks is generally higher than that of Chinese banks. In the case of telegraphic charges, the average fee per Chinese carrier is RMB 120 yuan, and most foreign banks exceed RMB 200 yuan. However, foreign banks also have their relative advantages, such as better service environment, close network of foreign exchange and foreign branches and agency. In the late 90s and early 2000 of the last century, some Chinese banks in the mainland started their business in the international settlement business. Therefore, there is a gap between the quality and speed of foreign exchange collection and information.

Take SWIFT as an example, if a paid bank is paid, the negotiating bank's export settlement can be collected on the same day, that is to say, the payment on the day of negotiation can be entered into the seller's account. If the foreign exchange routes are tortuous and circuitous, not only will the collection time be long, but also the number of agents will be removed, and the cost of each agent will be increased. The interest loss caused by the long time of foreign exchange collection is not included. When customers come to settle their foreign exchange, they find "how expensive is it?" The answer is that the fee is deducted from the other bank. Our bank only charges a little service fee and postage.

In the past, the settlement of foreign exchange by most provincial and municipal foreign trade companies was mostly operated by financial officers who were familiar with the business. They had a familiar problem with the credit and remittance routes. However, most private enterprises are initially involved in the field of foreign trade settlement, so they are too ignorant to see the high fees of some banks. They thought that the cost of foreign exchange settlement should have been so high.

I chatted with a friend who was a financial friend of a company. He said that the business under a letter of credit had been lost recently. I am surprised to see that all export expenses can be calculated under the letter of credit. I ask you, maybe the cost accounting is not accurate? He said, "the documents do not match, the other side refuse to pay", and then added, "in fact, the customer had already taken the goods away and sold them. But come here, and refuse to pay! " I was surprised and said, "since the customer has picked up the goods, how did he get the bill of lading?" If the issuing bank refuses to pay, the bill of lading should remain in the issuing bank, that is to say, the goods are still on the docks. According to international practice, as long as the importer has removed the goods and the shipping company has issued written evidence, it is deemed that they have accepted the set of documents without having to manage any "discrepancy". In other words, the other party should pay.

I immediately asked, "which bank do you negotiate with the documents?" He quoted the name of a foreign bank. This can also illustrate a problem. Some bank staff do not understand the international practice thoroughly. On the other hand, it should be noted that some domestic banks, as long as foreign trade professional banks, have many foreign branches and agency networks, and a series of international rules for foreign trade settlement have long been popular. If our foreign trade enterprises can still use them to continue their international business today, we should take a lot of detours with their talents and accumulated experience. Second, it is more convenient to continue packing and lending.

In addition to selecting the right bank for settlement, there is also a critical step in the choice of foreign exchange settlement and variety. Now, although the variety of international settlement is constantly innovating, the main types are remittance, letter of credit, collection, bank guarantee and so on. Among them, the cost of letter of credit is the highest. Therefore, the bank has the greatest risk and the exporter receives the largest amount of foreign exchange protection. The charge for collection and settlement is cheaper, which means that compared with the letter of credit settlement method, of course, remittance settlement is the most convenient way, the bank bears the least risk and the natural cost is the lowest. Therefore, the latter two ways need to bear more risk of settlement.

However, we can also adopt some flexible ways to deal with all the above international settlement methods, apply some basic characteristics of international practice, and remedy the deficiencies of the above settlement methods, which not only pay less, but also get the same security payment and remittance guarantee.

For example, a transaction uses two different ways of settlement at the same time, that is, part of the amount to be settled by letter of credit, and the other part of the account as collection and settlement. For example, there are 100 thousand U.S. dollars worth of imported goods, part of the goods (such as 60%) by the importer to open a letter of credit, the remaining part of the amount (the remaining 40%) by the exporter after the shipment, together with the shipping documents under the letter of credit, together with the negotiating bank, through the issuing bank to the importer to collect the settlement of the remaining payment.

The practice is that there are two bills of exchange drawn under the L / C and the goods under the collection. The full set of documents is enclosed in the bill of exchange under the letter of credit, and a clean bill is also issued for the goods under the collection. For the sake of safe collection, exporters may require importers to stipulate in the terms of the letter of credit that the issuing bank must make sure that the documents are collected after collection of the clean draft. With this method of settlement, the importer pays the clear ticket or not, which is the precondition for the presentation of the documents. This is beneficial to both the seller and the buyer, and the exporter's receipt is guaranteed, and the cost of both sides can also be saved.

Another way to collect foreign exchange is safe and economical, that is, remittance and collection. For example, a shipment of 100 thousand US dollars is required for export. The seller can first collect part of the deposit from the buyer and import it in T/T way (such as 30% payment). When the goods are shipped, the full set of documents (including the bill of lading) will be sent to the bank for collection, and the importer will be required to pay the remaining 70% to obtain the complete set of documents representing the goods. In this way, if the importer fails to redeem the bill, the exporter already has 40% of the advance payment in hand, and the goods can be resold to others or shipped back. The risk is relatively small, which improves the collection settlement method more unfavorable to exporters.