Trade finance Ireland: imports, exports and supplier payments

Funding and payment tools that help your company buy from or sell to other countries with less strain on cash and less risk. They include supplier payment facilities, where a funder pays your supplier and you repay later, and bank tools such as letters of credit and documentary collections. Our panel may be able to help with trade and supplier-payment finance.

Use supplier payment finance: a funder pays the supplier’s invoice now and your company repays later, once the goods have sold. Treyd, one of our panel lenders, offers one to five months to repay. Alternatively, a bank letter of credit lets you pay only when shipping documents are presented, and longer supplier terms cost nothing if you can negotiate them.

A bank’s written undertaking to pay the seller once agreed shipping documents, such as a bill of lading and invoice, are presented. It gives the seller confidence they will be paid, and the buyer confidence that payment only happens against the right documents. Letters of credit are issued by banks, which charge issuance and handling fees.

Import finance funds purchases from overseas suppliers, often paying them before the goods ship, so your company repays after the goods arrive and sell. Export finance releases cash tied up in invoices to foreign customers, usually through invoice finance. Bibby Financial Services Ireland offers both; our panel may help with supplier-payment finance for imports.

Purchase order finance is a related but separate product. It pays your supplier against a confirmed customer order, so you can deliver an order larger than your cash allows; it is repaid when your customer pays, often through invoice finance. It is a specialist product with its own page, where we explain how it differs from trade and stock finance.

A simpler, usually cheaper alternative to a letter of credit. The exporter’s bank sends shipping documents to the buyer’s bank, which releases them only when the buyer pays or accepts a bill of exchange promising to pay later. Unlike a letter of credit, the banks do not guarantee payment, so the seller carries more risk.

A buyer-led programme where a large customer arranges for its suppliers to be paid early on approved invoices, usually through a bank or platform. The supplier is paid sooner at a cost linked to the buyer’s credit strength, which can be lower than other invoice finance. Your company can only use it if your customer runs a programme.

If you pay a supplier, or are paid, in a currency other than euro, rate movements between order and payment can raise or lower your real cost. Some companies use forward contracts from their bank to fix the rate. Factor currency risk into your margins before relying on finance to fund a foreign purchase.

Usually the supplier or buyer contract or pro-forma invoice, shipping and customs documents, your latest accounts and director ID. Providers want to see who the supplier is, what the goods are, the value, currency and payment terms, and how and when the goods will be sold. Clear paperwork speeds up each transaction.