Creation
PaperDrawn, signed and posted over weeks
DigitalMinutes to create, sign and accept
A centuries-old instrument. Now digital.
Under the Electronic Trade Documents Act 2023, a bill of exchange can now be created, signed and transferred through secure digital systems, in minutes rather than weeks, with the same legal force as paper. We help companies put that to work.
- Independent specialists
- Technology-agnostic
- Paid on results
Recognised in electronic form since 20 September 2023
- Bills of exchange
- Promissory notes
- Bills of lading
- Ship’s delivery orders
- Warehouse receipts
- Mate’s receipts
- Marine insurance policies
- Cargo insurance certificates
Digital Bills of Exchange Partners
Bills of exchange have financed trade since medieval Europe. We help companies put digital bills of exchange and promissory notes to work for their working capital, and guide them through the wider digital transformation of trade finance. We are independent and technology-agnostic, and we are paid on results.
The instrument
Its main job: financing the sale of goods.
Every bill has a drawer (the seller), an acceptor (the buyer) and a due date. The credit period, typically 90 days, gives the buyer time to sell the goods, raising the very cash that pays the bill at maturity.
- You, the seller
- 100% of the invoice, less a small charge, on day one, and a reduced debtors figure on the balance sheet.
- Your customer
- Longer credit terms in return for committing to pay: extra working capital for them, too.
- The financier
- An unconditional payment obligation and very low risk, which is why bill facilities are invariably unsecured and often cheaper than an overdraft.
- You, the buyer
- Additional working capital, settlement discounts on the cost of goods, and a strengthened supply chain.
- Your supplier
- Early payment and no credit risk on its customer: working capital for them as well.
- The financier
- The statutory protection of the 1882 Act; its only concern is the issuer’s financial standing.
Works alongside invoice finance and asset-based lending, or as a standalone facility, with credit insurance or surety bonds as further risk mitigants.
The paper problem
On paper, documents lag the goods.
A bill never travels alone. In a single trade it is one of 10 to 20 documents, carried by courier between more than 20 players.
The law changed
2023: the game-changer.
The Electronic Trade Documents Act 2023, in force since 20 September 2023, gives a trade document held in a reliable, secure digital system the same legal effect as its paper original. A digital bill of exchange or promissory note is fully enforceable under the Bills of Exchange Act 1882, with no physical delivery required.
A reliable system must secure five things:
- 1882The Bills of Exchange Act codifies the bill of exchange and promissory note
- 2022The UK’s first digital promissory note transaction is completed
- Early 2023The UK’s first digital bill of exchange follows
- 20 July 2023The Electronic Trade Documents Act receives Royal Assent
- 20 September 2023In force: digital trade documents carry the same legal effect as paper
- September 2023The first transaction under the Act completes, with key documents arriving two days earlier than paper would have allowed
- TodayDigital bills are ready for working capital, at home and across borders
The UK was the first G7 economy to legislate.
£1.14bnProjected net benefit to UK businesses over a decadeHM Government estimate
28.5bnPaper trade documents printed and moved around the worldUK Government estimate
Up to 12%Possible cut in global logistics emissionsWorld Economic Forum research
Anatomy of a digital bill
The same bill, rebuilt as a secure record.
Nothing about a bill’s legal nature has changed. Only its medium. Every element of the paper instrument has a digital counterpart.
“A bill of exchange is an unconditional order in writing, addressed by one person to another, signed by the person giving it, requiring the person to whom it is addressed to pay on demand or at a fixed or determinable future time a sum certain in money to or to the order of a specified person, or to bearer.”
The bill stands on its own
Once a bill exists, it is divorced from the underlying transaction: the acceptor must pay the full amount at maturity, no matter what.
Recourse, unless agreed otherwise
Unless a bill is drawn sans recours, the drawer carries a contingent liability: if the acceptor fails to pay, any holder may demand payment from the drawer.
Paper vs digital
The same instrument, two very different lives.
Speed, lower cost, security, no physical delivery, legal certainty, and an instrument made for international trade. Early movers set the terms with customers and financiers.
Delivery
PaperCouriers and physical delivery
DigitalInstant transmission, anywhere
Security
PaperRisk of loss or forgery
DigitalSecure digital signature and audit trail
Cost
PaperHandling, storage and courier fees
DigitalNegligible running cost
Law
PaperEnforceable under the 1882 Act
DigitalSame legal force under the 2023 Act
Reach
PaperSlowed by every border it crosses
DigitalMade for international trade
Working with us
How we add value.
01
The right structure
We advise on the best way of structuring and using bills, or promissory notes, to benefit your business, including risk mitigation through credit insurance or surety bonds. We help you choose the right secure digital system as well as the right instrument.
02
The right funder
Using our extensive network, we find the institution best suited to provide the necessary funding lines, bank or non-bank, in a manner that is beneficial to you.
Our fees
We do not commence any project without first agreeing the scope and the fee structure with you. No surprises; no meters running.
Paid on results.
The partners
Over 100 years in the markets.
Between the three of us, we bring well over a century’s combined experience of financial markets and banking in the City of London, with deep, specific expertise in bills of exchange, and decades spent doing business, building companies and growing trade across Africa, Asia, the CIS and Latin America.
Howard Royds
Partner
Biography to follow
Alexander Rottenburg
Partner
Biography to follow
Harry Vernon
Partner
Biography to follow
Ready to trade at the speed of digital?
Tell us about your receivables, your payables or your trade flows, and we will tell you, plainly, what a bill programme could do for them.
- EmailTo be confirmed
- TelephoneTo be confirmed
- Office128 City Road, London EC1V 2NX