| Term | Explanation |
| About | Used in connection with amount or quantity, it means +/- 10% |
| Acceptance | An accepted draft |
| Advise | To forward a documentary credit or an amendment to a documentary credit to the beneficiary |
| Advising bank | The bank (other than the issuing bank) that forwards the documentary credit to the beneficiary |
| Air waybill (AWB) | Air transport document |
| Applicant | The party on whose behalf a documentary credit is issued |
| Approximately | See About above |
| At sight | Payment on a sight basis (no credit time) |
| Available with | The bank where the documents must be presented |
| Beneficiary | The party in whose favour the documentary credit is issued |
| Bill of lading | Sea transport document |
| Clean bill of lading | Transport document without markings regarding damage of goods or packaging |
| CMR waybill | Overland transport document |
| Confirmation | This means that a bank takes on a payment obligation together with the issuing bank |
| Consignee | Recipient |
| Consignor | Sender |
| Deferred payment | Alternative to payment at sight |
| Discounting | Buying the outstanding debt with a deferred payment |
| Documentary credit | An undertaking (also called a letter of credit) by the issuing bank to make payment to a named beneficiary, usually the seller of merchandise, against delivery of documents specified in the credit |
| Expiry date/place | Indicates when and where the documentary credit expires for presentation of documents |
| For account of | The documentary credit's order giver; see Applicant above |
| In favour of | The documentary credit's beneficiary; see Beneficiary above |
| Incoterms | Delivery conditions; see also Incoterms 2000 |
| Irrevocable | Documentary credit which cannot be cancelled without the acceptance of the beneficiary and any confirming bank |
| Letter of credit | The American expression for documentary credit |
| Multimodal | Used in the expression "multimodal transport" about transport, in which more than one means of transport are used |
| n.n. | Non-negotiable |
| Negotiable | Used in documentary credits as an alternative to the word "payable" and meaning payable in a bank other than the issuing bank; also used about original copies of a bill of lading |
| Negotiate | To pay against drafts and/or documents with recourse |
| Notify party | In a transport document, the party to be advised of the arrival of goods |
| Presentation period | Indicates the deadline for the presentation of documents under the documentary credit |
| Reimbursement | Payment between the issuing and paying banks |
| Revocable | Documentary credit which the issuing bank can cancel at any time up to the presentation of documents |
| Revolving | Documentary credit where the amount is re-established - under special conditions - after the documentary credit has been used |
| Tenor | The period of deferred payment |
| Transferable | Documentary credit where the beneficiary is allowed to transfer its rights under the documentary credit, wholly or in part, to one or more subcontractors |
| UCP 600 | The international rules for documentary credits: Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits, ICC Publication No. 600 |
| Usance credit | Documentary credit with deferred payment; see Deferred Payment above |