Also known as a documentary letter of credit or documentary credit. The most frequent form of payment in international trade. A documentary letter of credit is a contract under which a bank agrees to pay the seller, in connection with the export of specific goods, against the presentation of specified documents relating to those goods. The documentary letter of credit is issued at the request of the buyer (the applicant for the credit) in favour of the seller (the beneficiary of the credit).

For more on documentary letters of credit, see Practice note, Letters of credit: overview.