The exporter sends the goods and documents to the foreign buyer. The buyer pays the invoice when the goods arrive, or within a certain period from the invoice date. This can be risky,as the exporter trusts the buyer to honour the original sales contract:
A foreign bank issues an undertaking to the exporter ( through a bank in the exporter’s country) to pay for the goods as long as the exporter complies with the terms and conditions of the contract. This is a much safer form of payment for the exporter. To be even safer, the exporter can arrange for the bank in his/her country to act as “ confirming bank”, which means that the bank in the exporter’s country is responsible for the transaction:
The exporter does not dispatch the goods until payment has been received from the importer. There is no risk for the exporter – all the risk is taken by the importer: