Trade Finance and Import Finance Australia

How Trade Finance Works

• Letters of credit (LC) — your bank guarantees payment to an overseas supplier once shipping documents confirming the goods have been dispatched are presented, giving both sides confidence in an international transaction.
• Trade advances — short-term funding to pay a supplier before goods arrive and are sold, repaid once the stock is sold or the customer invoice is collected.
• Combined inventory and debtor packages — for importers, financing is often structured across the whole cycle: funding stock while it's in transit or in the warehouse, then rolling into debtor finance once it's sold and invoiced. This suits businesses like medical device and equipment importers, where stock is high-value and the gap between paying overseas and collecting locally can run for months.

The Questions Importers Are Asking

• How do I fund a large purchase order from an overseas supplier without tying up all my working capital?
• Do I need a letter of credit, or would a trade advance suit this transaction better?
• Can financing follow the whole cycle — from stock in transit through to the customer invoice?
• What security do lenders actually want for trade finance — the stock, the debtor book, or property?
• How do lenders treat foreign currency exposure on international purchases?

Why Importers Choose Glenclair Financial