The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has introduced a new online service making all of its documentary credit information available on the internet. The service is up and running on the ICC's website at www.iccwbo.org
The new service (available on subscription to the ICC) reflects the move in the marketplace away from hard copy and into electronic publication of information.
It will put in readily accessible form all the data which bankers and their legal advisers need in dealing with documentary credits. The online training, which will also be offered, is aimed at reducing the high discrepancy rate in Letters of Credit. An estimated 60-70 per cent of all Letters of Credit are rejected for discrepancies on first presentation.
The new service will offer the following:
- Fully searchable texts of all ICC rules (UCP 500, URC 522, URR 525, URDG 458 and DOCDEX);
- ICC Banking Commission official Opinions on documentary credits, as well as unpublished queries approved by the Commission;
- Legal cases on letters of credit for the past 20 years;
- Back issues of the ICC's newsletter (Documentary Credits Insight);
- Fraud alerts;
- Daily news articles on letters of credit;
- A discussion forum for experts in documentary credits; and
- Banking Commission policy statements and Decisions.
ICC's Banking Commission is also in the process of creating an electronic supplement to UCP 500, its universally recognized rules on Letters of Credit.
If you would like further information on documentary credits, please contact Ruth Pedley, Professional Support Lawyer in the Banking and International Finance Group on 020 7367 2098 or by e-mail on ruth.pedley@cms-cmck.com.
