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How the structures work.

Four disciplines, one integrated trade partner — each explained step by step, with an illustrative transaction.

Supplier Credit

Pay your suppliers at sight. Pay us on terms that fit your cash cycle.

We accept unconfirmed, irrevocable letters of credit from manufacturers, volume buyers and financial institutions, and use them to issue our own confirmed letters of credit to suppliers around the world from our UK platform. The supplier receives the security it demands; the buyer receives the time it needs. Deferred tenors of 30, 60, 90, 120 and 180 days are available, matched to the buyer’s production and resale cycle.

How it works

  1. Buyer’s bank issues an unconfirmed irrevocable LC in favour of Fist Commerce.
  2. Fist Commerce issues a confirmed LC to the supplier — payable at sight against compliant documents.
  3. Goods ship; the supplier presents documents and is paid in full, on time.
  4. The buyer settles with Fist Commerce at the end of the agreed deferred tenor.
In practice

Canadian pulses to West Africa

A Lagos food processor wants 4,000 tonnes of Saskatchewan red lentils, but its cash is tied up until the milled product is sold. The Regina exporter, unfamiliar with the buyer’s bank, will only ship against a first-class confirmed LC payable at sight.

Shipment valueUSD 2.6 million, CIF Lagos
Buyer’s instrumentUnconfirmed irrevocable LC, 120-day deferred
Fist Commerce roleIssued confirmed sight LC to exporter via UK platform
Exporter paidOn presentation of shipping documents
Buyer settlesDay 120 — after product reaches market

Result: the exporter ships with zero buyer risk; the processor gains four months of working capital and a repeatable supply line.

Illustrative transaction. Figures are representative and do not describe a specific client.

Invoice Factoring

Turn open-account invoices into cash on the day goods ship.

Fist Commerce supports international, cross-border trade through invoice factoring. Our facilities are primarily non-recourse and collateral-free, so they sit outside existing bank lines and leave your credit headroom untouched. Offer your buyers competitive open-account terms of up to 180 days — without waiting 180 days to be paid.

How it works

  1. Grant your buyer open-account payment terms of up to 180 days.
  2. Fist Commerce advances 90% of the invoice value upon shipment.
  3. A tripartite notice of assignment is signed by you, Fist Commerce and the buyer.
  4. On the due date, the buyer pays Fist Commerce directly — 100% of invoice value.
  5. We remit the remaining 10%, less our factoring fee.
In practice

UK engineering exporter, EU distributor

A Midlands manufacturer of precision pump components wins a major order from a Rotterdam distributor that insists on 90-day terms. Rather than stretch its overdraft, the manufacturer factors the invoice.

Invoice valueGBP 750,000, 90-day open account
Day 0 — shipmentGBP 675,000 (90%) advanced to the exporter
Day 90 — maturityBuyer pays GBP 750,000 to Fist Commerce
Balance remittedGBP 75,000 less factoring fee
Recourse / collateralNone / none

Result: the exporter funds its next production run immediately, wins the contract on the buyer’s terms and carries no credit risk on its books.

Illustrative transaction. Figures are representative and do not describe a specific client.

Risk Participation

Release capacity. Rebalance exposure. Keep saying yes to your best clients.

Our master risk participation programme is designed for banks, trade houses and lenders that need to manage portfolio limits without stepping back from valued relationships. Under a Master Risk Participation Agreement we assume a share of the underlying credit risk — funded or unfunded — so you can transfer risk off your balance sheet, free up capital for growth and strengthen risk management.

Why institutions use it

  1. Transfer risk on concentrated obligors, sectors or countries.
  2. Free up capital and credit limits to support new business.
  3. Enhance risk management with a dependable, documented counterparty.
  4. Retain the relationship — the client keeps dealing with its own bank.
In practice

Country-limit relief for a mid-sized bank

A regional bank has reached its internal country limit for a large energy importer it has served for a decade. A new import programme threatens to push it over the line — and into losing the client to a competitor.

FacilityUSD 20 million trade loan programme
Fist Commerce share40% unfunded participation under MRPA
Risk transferredUSD 8 million of obligor exposure
Client experienceUnchanged — the bank remains lender of record

Result: the bank books the full programme within policy, keeps a flagship client and redeploys the released limit elsewhere.

Illustrative transaction. Figures are representative and do not describe a specific client.

Intermediation & Advisory

Intermediation

A financing facility is only as good as the deal behind it. Through our network of banks, trade associations and established businesses, we connect credible buyers with reliable sellers — and we stay in the transaction, structuring the payment and finance so the introduction becomes a completed trade.

Advisory

Our advisors guide clients through trade regulation, documentary requirements (UCP 600, URC 522), sanctions and KYC expectations, Incoterms selection and payment-structure design — so issues are solved at the term-sheet stage, not at the port.

In practice

Opening a new sourcing corridor

A UK building-products distributor wants to diversify away from a single supplier but has no track record with overseas manufacturers. Fist Commerce introduces two vetted producers from its network and designs the payment terms.

Our roleIntroduction, supplier due diligence, payment structuring
StructureConfirmed LC for first orders, moving to factored open account
AdvisoryIncoterms, documentary checklist, compliance screening
Annual volumec. GBP 4 million across two suppliers

Result: a resilient dual-source supply chain, financed end-to-end, live within one quarter.

Illustrative transaction. Figures are representative and do not describe a specific client.

The transaction lifecycle

1
Origination

Match buyer & seller

2
Structuring

Terms, tenor, security

3
Due diligence

KYC, sanctions, credit

4
Execution

Instruments issued

5
Settlement

Funds & documents flow

Let’s move your trade forward.

Tell us about your next shipment. We’ll structure the rest.

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