Expert trade finance document preparation for international shipments. LC-compliant commercial invoices, bills of lading, certificates of origin, packing lists, insurance certificates, and shipper's letters of instruction — prepared accurately to prevent discrepancies and protect your payment.
A letter of credit is only as good as the documents that support it. Under UCP 600, banks are required to refuse payment on any document set that contains even a minor discrepancy from the LC terms — a misspelled port name, a mismatched quantity, a missing endorsement. Studies by the International Chamber of Commerce consistently show that over 70% of first-presentation LC documents contain discrepancies that delay or block payment.
MyExpressFreight's trade finance team works alongside your logistics operation to prepare every required document with the precision that banks demand. We review the LC terms before your shipment loads, prepare documents that match those terms exactly, and deliver a complete, bank-ready document package on time — every time.
The most common letter of credit discrepancies are entirely preventable with the right process. Our team has seen every type of discrepancy and builds our document preparation workflow specifically to eliminate them.
Every document your bank, buyer, or customs authority requires — prepared accurately, on time, and fully compliant with your LC terms and international trade regulations.
Prepared to match LC terms exactly — correct description of goods, unit prices, total value, currency, Incoterms, buyer and seller details, and any LC-specified statements. The most-discrepant document in LC transactions, handled with precision.
Full set of original negotiable bills of lading issued to the order of the issuing bank or as specified in the LC. Correct consignee, notify party, port of loading/discharge, freight terms, and endorsements applied per LC requirements.
Detailed packing list showing individual carton contents, gross and net weights, dimensions, marks and numbers, and total quantities — formatted to match LC requirements and consistent with the commercial invoice line by line.
Standard chamber of commerce certificates, USMCA/FTA preferential origin certificates, and country-specific origin documents. Notarization, chamber certification, and consular legalization arranged where the LC or destination country requires it.
Cargo insurance certificates issued same-day to the minimum value and with all coverage clauses specified in the LC — including ICC A/B/C clauses, war and strikes coverage, and special commodity endorsements. Endorsed as required.
Complete SLI preparation authorizing export documentation, AES/EEI filing, and freight forwarding on behalf of the exporter. Ensures consistent information flows to every document in the set — eliminating data-entry discrepancies at the source.
Full coordination of Documents against Payment (D/P) and Documents against Acceptance (D/A) collections through the banking system. Document preparation, bank instruction letters, and follow-up through to document release and payment.
Coordination of third-party inspection certificates, phytosanitary certificates, health certificates, fumigation certificates, weight and analysis certificates, and any other specialty documents called for in the LC or destination country regulations.
Our trade finance team is involved from the moment you receive your LC — not just at document preparation time. Early involvement is the single most effective way to prevent discrepancies.
Beyond letters of credit, MyExpressFreight provides trade finance document support for every major international payment method.
Answers to the most common questions about letters of credit, trade finance documents, LC discrepancies, and international payment terms.
A letter of credit (LC) is a financial instrument issued by the buyer's bank guaranteeing payment to the seller once a compliant set of documents is presented within the LC's validity period. It is the most secure payment method in international trade because the bank — not the buyer — is responsible for payment, as long as the documents strictly comply with the LC terms under UCP 600. LCs are commonly used for large transactions, new trade relationships, or when trading with buyers in higher-risk markets.
Most LCs require: a signed commercial invoice, a full set of clean on-board ocean bills of lading (or airway bill for air shipments), a detailed packing list, a marine cargo insurance certificate for at least 110% of the invoice value, and a certificate of origin. Many LCs also require inspection certificates, phytosanitary certificates, beneficiary certificates, or weight certificates. The exact requirements are specified in the LC issued by the buyer's bank.
LC discrepancies occur when the presented documents don't strictly match the LC terms — even minor differences trigger a refusal under UCP 600. The most common causes are: invoice description wording that doesn't match the LC exactly, shipment after the latest ship date, presentation after the presentation deadline, port names that don't match, missing insurance clauses, and incorrect bill of lading endorsements. Discrepancies are avoided by reviewing the LC before shipment, preparing documents to mirror LC language precisely, and having an expert review the document set before bank presentation — exactly what MyExpressFreight does.
A certificate of origin certifies the country where the exported goods were manufactured or substantially transformed. It is required when the LC specifically calls for it, when the destination country's customs authority requires it for duty assessment, and when the shipment qualifies for a Free Trade Agreement preferential duty rate. Some countries (particularly in the Middle East and Latin America) also require the certificate to be notarized and legalized by a chamber of commerce and/or the destination country's consulate.
Both D/P and D/A are documentary collection methods where shipping documents are routed through the banking system. In a Documents against Payment (D/P) collection, the buyer must pay the bank before receiving the documents needed to collect the goods. In a Documents against Acceptance (D/A) collection, the buyer receives documents after signing a time draft (accepting future payment), creating a trade credit arrangement. D/P offers more seller protection than D/A, but neither provides the full bank payment guarantee of a letter of credit.
UCP 600 is the Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits — the internationally recognized rulebook published by the International Chamber of Commerce that governs letters of credit worldwide. Nearly all LCs issued today incorporate UCP 600. Under its rules, banks must examine documents strictly and refuse payment on any discrepant presentation, regardless of how minor the error. Understanding and applying UCP 600 is essential for preparing documents that will be accepted by banks on first presentation.
A shipper's letter of instruction authorizes your freight forwarder to prepare export documents and file your Electronic Export Information (EEI) through the Automated Export System (AES) on your behalf. It is the master instruction document for your export shipment — capturing all the details that feed into every other document. A complete, accurate SLI ensures that your commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading, and export filing are all consistent with each other and with your LC terms, eliminating the data-entry inconsistencies that cause preventable discrepancies.
"We had constant LC discrepancies with our previous forwarder — delayed payments, bank charges, buyer disputes. Since switching to MyExpressFreight's trade finance team, every document set has been accepted first presentation. Zero discrepancies in 18 months."
"Our LC required a legalized certificate of origin from the Saudi consulate. MyExpressFreight handled the chamber certification, notarization, and consular legalization and still got the full document set to the bank before the presentation deadline. Impressive."
"MyExpressFreight reviewed our LC before we shipped and flagged a port restriction that would have made our B/L non-compliant. They caught it in time to amend the LC. That one review saved us a significant discrepancy fee and a two-week payment delay."
"The insurance certificate format our buyer's bank required had very specific clause language. MyExpressFreight issued the certificate same-day with every required clause worded exactly as the LC specified. Our bank accepted it without question."
"We ship to buyers in emerging markets where LCs are essential for payment security. MyExpressFreight handles every LC document set with the rigor it demands. Their expertise gives us confidence that we'll be paid on every shipment."
"D/P collections to our Latin American buyers used to be a coordination headache. MyExpressFreight manages the entire process — documents, bank instructions, follow-up — and keeps us informed at every step. It just works."
LC document preparation, certificate of origin, insurance certificates, and documentary collections.