Voice of International Business

  Verifying and Tracking a Bill of Lading has become more important in international trade transactions than ever. All trade finance professionals are very much concerned about money laundering and terrorist financing. Moreover, local, regional and international trade sanctions are another vital issue to deal with. You might be thinking, how verification of B/L or BoL can help in those issues!   Bill of Lading at a Glance A Bill of Lading, sometimes called B/L and BoL, is essential for international trade. The Carrier of goods or shipping lines issues a Bill of Lading to the Shipper of the goods. A Bill of Lading looks like below: Usual Concern Regarding a Shipment in Trade Transaction In the normal course of business, an exporter-seller ships goods to the buyer as per the contract or LC. Then they send documents for collection. Then the buyer pays or accepts to pay and takes documents to release goods. In some cases, the buyer pays in advance, receives documents from the

Are you a newbie in the area of Foreign Exchange and International Trade Finance? If you are, this is a perfect place to start your lessons.    Many newbies have repeatedly searched for study materials on this topic, Foreign Exchange for Beginners. They never found a complete guideline. This section of my blog aimed to help them in this regard. In addition, this write-up will guide you through learning operational procedures in banking and international business.  Let us start with some ABCs of Foreign Exchange & International Trade. We will discuss some terms used in this track and their definitions. You will know what documents are required for what purpose. You will also find samples, examples, and references.  It will help students, bankers, and those who are involved in Trade Finance. Then, this blog will try to continue with the readers' interest.   What is Foreign Exchange? Before we reach a final definition, we must know the word Foreign Exchange. This word (Foreign Exc