(相關資料圖)

　　信用證(Letter of Credit，L/C) ，是指開證銀行應申請人的要求并按其指示向第三方開立的載有一定金額的，在一定的期限內憑符合規定的單據付款的書面保證文件。

　　The letter of credit is the bank instrument that assures the person selling merchandise of payment if he makes the agreed-upon shipment. On the other hand, it also assures the buyer that he is not required to pay until the seller ships the goods. It is thus a catalyst that provides the buyer and the seller with mutual protection in dealing with each other.

　　信用證是銀行對銷售商品者已裝運訂購的出口貨物承擔付款保證的信用工具。另一方面，它還向買方保證，直到賣方裝運貨物才需付款。因此，正是這種催化劑，它在購貨方和銷貨方的交易過程中對雙方都提供相互的保護作用。

　　An international trading transaction begins when a buyer and a seller sign a contract that records all the elements of the transaction. Having worked out an agreement, the buyer and seller must arrange payment. The buyer will want possession before paying, and the seller will want payment before making delivery. Since each party often has an incomplete knowledge of the other, there is a certain caution to their dealings.

　　當買方和賣方簽署了記錄所有交易要素的合同時，一筆國際間的交易業務就開始了。簽訂好協議，買方和賣方就支付貨款事項做出安排。買方想在付款前擁有貨物，賣方想在交貨前獲得貨款，由于一方常常對另一方并不十分了解，所以對彼此的交易存有戒心。

　　At this point, the letter of credit can be extremely useful. The buyer requests his bank to issue a letter of credit in favor of the seller. The letter says, in essence, to the seller: we, the bank, promise that we will pay you when you submit certain documents evidencing that you have made the agreed-upon shipment. The bank has thus substituted its credit for that of the buyer. The letter of credit also protects the buyer, for he knows that he will not be called upon for payment by his bank until the evidence shows that the shipment has actually been effected.

　　就這個問題而言，信用證非常有用。買方要求其開戶行開出以賣方為受益人的信用證，信用證對銷售方主要說明：“當你提供有關單據證明你已經裝運購貨方所訂購的貨物時，我們銀行同意付款”。這樣，銀行以自己的信用代替了買方的信用。該信用證還保護了買方，因為他知道，只到有證據表明貨物確已裝運時銀行才會要他付款。