Advising bank
Encyclopedia
An advising bank advises a beneficiary
(exporter) that a letter of credit
(L/C) opened by an issuing bank
for an applicant
(importer) is available. Advising Bank's responsibility is to authenticate the letter of credit issued by the issuer to avoid fraud. The advising bank is not necessarily responsible for the payment of the credit which it advises the beneficiary of.
The advising bank is usually located in the beneficiary's country. It can be (1) a branch office of the issuing bank or a correspondent bank, or (2) a bank appointed by the beneficiary. Important point is the beneficiary has to be comfortable with the advising bank.
In case (1), the issuing bank most often sends the L/C through its branch office or correspondent bank to avoid fraud. The branch office or the correspondent bank maintains specimen signature(s) on file where it may counter-check the signature(s) on the L/C, and it has a coding system (a secret test key) to distinguish a genuine L/C from a fraudulent one (authentication
) .
In case (2), the beneficiary can request the applicant to specify his/her bank (the beneficiary's bank) as the advising bank in an L/C application. In many countries, this is beneficial to the beneficiary, who may avail the reduced bank charges and fees because of special relationships with the bank. Under normal circumstances, advising charges is standard and minimal. In addition, it is more convenient to deal with the beneficiary's own bank over a bank with which the beneficiary does not maintain an account.
Beneficiary
A beneficiary in the broadest sense is a natural person or other legal entity who receives money or other benefits from a benefactor. For example: The beneficiary of a life insurance policy, is the person who receives the payment of the amount of insurance after the death of the insured...
(exporter) that a letter of credit
Letter of credit
A standard, commercial letter of credit is a document issued mostly by a financial institution, used primarily in trade finance, which usually provides an irrevocable payment undertaking....
(L/C) opened by an issuing bank
Letter of credit
A standard, commercial letter of credit is a document issued mostly by a financial institution, used primarily in trade finance, which usually provides an irrevocable payment undertaking....
for an applicant
Letter of credit
A standard, commercial letter of credit is a document issued mostly by a financial institution, used primarily in trade finance, which usually provides an irrevocable payment undertaking....
(importer) is available. Advising Bank's responsibility is to authenticate the letter of credit issued by the issuer to avoid fraud. The advising bank is not necessarily responsible for the payment of the credit which it advises the beneficiary of.
The advising bank is usually located in the beneficiary's country. It can be (1) a branch office of the issuing bank or a correspondent bank, or (2) a bank appointed by the beneficiary. Important point is the beneficiary has to be comfortable with the advising bank.
In case (1), the issuing bank most often sends the L/C through its branch office or correspondent bank to avoid fraud. The branch office or the correspondent bank maintains specimen signature(s) on file where it may counter-check the signature(s) on the L/C, and it has a coding system (a secret test key) to distinguish a genuine L/C from a fraudulent one (authentication
Authentication
Authentication is the act of confirming the truth of an attribute of a datum or entity...
) .
In case (2), the beneficiary can request the applicant to specify his/her bank (the beneficiary's bank) as the advising bank in an L/C application. In many countries, this is beneficial to the beneficiary, who may avail the reduced bank charges and fees because of special relationships with the bank. Under normal circumstances, advising charges is standard and minimal. In addition, it is more convenient to deal with the beneficiary's own bank over a bank with which the beneficiary does not maintain an account.