Skip to main content
commercial letter of credit

commercial letter of credit

5.6
A bank's written promise to pay a seller for goods when required papers arrive
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : carta de crédito comercial
  • The exporter required a commercial letter of credit before shipping the products overseas.

Examples

  • To secure the deal, the buyer arranged a commercial letter of credit through their bank.

  • A commercial letter of credit guarantees that the seller will receive payment once the documents are presented.

  • A commercial letter of credit ensures that suppliers are paid promptly.

  • The bank issued a commercial letter of credit for the transaction.

  • A commercial letter of credit guarantees that the seller will receive payment once the required documents are presented.

  • The exporter required a commercial letter of credit to ensure payment before shipping the products overseas.

  • To secure the deal for the machinery, the buyer arranged a commercial letter of credit through their bank.

Synonyms

letter of credit
vscommercial letter of credit
  • Formal
1 5.5

A bank document that promises to pay a seller if a buyer meets certain conditions

is specific to business transactions involving goods or services rather than general use

How Secure

guarantee
  • Formal
169 3.5
letter of credit
  • Formal
1 5.5
commercial letter of credit
  • Specialized
5.6
purchase order
  • Formal
5 3.2
invoice
50 3.3

Surface Forms

Morphology

commercial + letter + of + credit

The phrase is compositionally built from 'commercial' (business-related) + 'letter' (a document) + 'credit' (a financial arrangement), so a learner who knows those words can infer it refers to a business document concerning payment/credit. This pattern (a document guaranteeing payment in commercial transactions) is common across languages and follows standard noun-of-noun composition, making the meaning accessible to B1 learners.

Etymology

Commercial letter of credit comes from a simple image: a bank writes a formal letter that gives a credit, a 'promise to pay', for a business (commercial) sale. When the seller shows the correct papers, the bank pays, so the phrase means a bank's written guarantee for payment in a business deal.