International payments.

• Author: Cavendish, Michael
• Position: Review

International Payments by Edward J. Hinkelman Reviewed by Michael Cavendish

Writing a good read on letters of credit is a tough task. The task grows weightier still when one considers that the typical reader, lawyer or not, knows little to nothing about the subject of credits--a steep learning curve for the author's audience. Worse, the reader will expect the text to be useful and approachable. Creating a reference that rises to these demands is a challenge.

Edward Hinkelman meets the challenge with his new book, International Payments: Letters of Credit, Documentary Collections and Cyberpayments in International Transactions. The text, a part of the Short Course in International Trade Series, is a brisk primer on documentary credits for practitioners under pressure to learn quickly the basics of this highly regulated form of payment.

The book begins with a useful explanation of why documentary credits are used in international business. Beginning from the premise that documentary credits provide two-way security against myriad cross-border snafus, the author illustrates concepts such as hedging, exchange rate risk, and payment security in an effort to expand the reader's awareness of hitherto obscure transaction variables usually encountered only in international deals.

After a brief interlude reviewing basic foreign trade concepts, the author begins the real meat of the book--11 consecutive chapters on the ins and outs of documentary credits.

Because the successful settlement of a credit so often depends upon the verification of critical trade documents, Hinkelman provides standard forms used in international trade throughout the book. This presentation of actual samples of trade documents allows the reader to visualize the elements of a documentary credit transaction. Cargo bills, bills of lading, courier receipts, insurance certificates, certificates of origin, and export declarations are included in realistic form, not buried in an index but placed conveniently at the point of textual discussion. These visual aids significantly enhance the transfer of practical knowledge to the reader.

The most useful pages in the book are found in the brief chapter of...