eUCP VERSION 2.1 - ICC Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits

The eUCP Version 2.1 came into force on 1 July 2019. Existing ICC rules, such as UCP 600, while being invaluable in a paper world, provide limited protection when applied to electronic transactions. It is inevitable that traditional trade instruments will, over time, inexorably move towards a mixed ecosystem of paper and digital, and, ultimately, to electronic records alone.

The content of the eUCP will be continually monitored in order to ensure applicability. The support of trade practitioners will be an essential element moving forward. These rules provide many benefits in advancing documentary credits in a digital environment and ensuring the continued relevance of these valuable instruments in mitigating trade risk.

In order to help drafting documentary credits subject to eUCP 2.1 the ICC Global banking commission commercialisation group prepared recommendations for MT700 field specifications which can be accessed here.

The eUCP supplements the Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits (2007 Revision ICC Publication No. 600,) (“UCP”) in order to accommodate the presentation of electronic records alone or in combination with paper documents.