The steps are as follows:
The Philippine importer places an order with the American exporter, and asks the American if he would be willing to ship under a letter of credit. The American exporter agrees to ship under aletter of credit, and specifies relevant information such as prices, delivery terms, and the like. The Philippine importer applies to the Bank ofManila (or some other international bank) for a letter of credit to be issued in favor of the American exporter for the merchandise the importer wishes to buy. The Bank of Manila issues a letter of credit in the Philippine importer's favor and sends it to the American exporter's bank, the Bank of Seattle. The Bank of Seattle advises the American exporter of the opening of a letter of credit in his favor. The American exporter ships the goods to the Philippine importer on a common carrier.
The American exporter presents a 90 day timedraft to the Bank of Seattle, drawn on the Bank of Manila in accordance with the Bank of Manila's letter of credit and accompanied by the bill of lading. The American exporter endorses the bill of lading such that the title to the goods goes with the holder of the document - which at this point in the transaction is the Bank of Seattle. The Bank of Seattle presents the draft and documents to the Bank of Manila. The Bank of Manila accepts the draft, taking possession of the documents and promising to pay the now accepted draft in 90 days. The Bank of Manila returns the accepted draft to the Bank of Seattle. The Bank of Seattle tells the American exporter that they have the accepted bank draft, whichis payable in 90 days. The exporter sells the draft to the Bank of Seattle for a discount from the face value and receives the discounted cash value of the draftin return. The Bank of Manila notifies the Philippine importer of the arrival of the documents. It agrees to pay the Bank of Manila in 90 days. The Bank of Manila releases the documents so that the Philippine importer can take possession of the shipment. In 90 days the Bank of Manila receives the importer's payment so that it has funds to pay the maturing draft. In 90 days the holder of the matured acceptance, in this case the Bank of Seattle, presents it to the Bank of Manila for payment. The Bank of Manila pays.(If the exporter feels confident in and can completely trust the purchaser in the Philippines, then a much simpler procedure than this could be followed.)