Electronic documents a preferred choice in commodity trade

Increasingly, the players in global commodities markets are looking to technology to overcome the age-old problems of the complexity and time-consuming nature of manual shipping and trade finance documentation.

Although cumbersome, letters of credit (LoCs) still offer one of the most effective ways for exporters to ensure predictable payment, according to Commodity Online.

However, the need to deal with multiple paper documents leaves the entire process wide-open to error and delays. But there’s now an electronic alternative. The ePresentation system.

It speeds-up transactions under an LoC by removing the need to courier original paper documents. According to the XML Corporation, by saving presentations from ePresentation, they become accessible from anywhere across the globe and become platform independent.

A crucial factor is that these electronic documents – including an electronic bill of lading (eBL) – are accepted by all parties. This means that the technology can be used for complex letter of credit presentations and transactions, as well as for more straightforward company-to-company invoices.