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Call our Trade & Working Capital Division on +267 370 6386

If you are exporting


  1. On conclusion of the contract of sale, the buyer sends you advance payment
  2. Your bank will receive an inward transfer in your favour
  3. You will need to supply your bank with the appropriate settlement instructions, as well as conversion instructions if the transfer is in foreign currency

If you are importing


  1. The contract of sale is concluded
  2. Contact your branch and request them to do a SWIFT transfer or issue you with a draft
  3. You will need to supply the bank with details of the beneficiary (including banking details, amount and currency) and a copy of your invoice
  4. On receipt of the goods and documents, you clear the goods
  5. Open account payments may be done from foreign currency accounts or via BWP current accounts after an exchange rate is agreed upon.

What are the risks?


  • The seller's country may impose laws that prevent the shipment from taking place.
  • The seller may not ship the right quality and/or quantity of goods, or he/she may not ship at all.
  • The buyer's country may not allow advance payments in respect of imported goods.
  • The buyer's cash flow may not allow for payment to be made. It can cost the seller dearly as he/she may have incurred manufacturing and other costs on the understanding that an advance payment would be forthcoming.

How can these risks be minimised?


  • Bank/status reports can be obtained to ascertain the reliability and integrity of the seller.
  • Country reports are useful in determining the stability of the seller's country.
  • If the seller will be incurring costs to either manufacture or secure the goods from another supplier, reports should be obtained on the buyer and the buyer's country.
  • The buyer may request the seller to issue an Advance Payment Guarantee covering any monies advanced to the seller, should the seller default.

Advance Payment


Secure global transfers


When an exceptionally high level of trust exist between the importer and exporter, then remittance of funds in this instance is normally effected before goods are dispatched, received, or the service has been rendered.

What this is


Quick effective transfer


The buyer pays the seller before the goods have been shipped, or in some cases before the goods have been manufactured.

Payment can be effected by SWIFT transfer.

Advance Payment Guarantee


Safety + security

This enables the employer to get a refund of advance payments made in the event of default by the contractor.

It is issued for the full amount of the advance payment, but may contain reduction clauses, which enable a reduction in the maximum amount upon evidence of progressive performance.

Steps involved


There are several steps involved that you need to know when exporting and importing.

Minimising risk


Expert guidance + assistance


Getting it made easy