Trade Finance for Imports and Exports.
Keep international orders moving while you manage cash flow. Premier Finance connects established importers and exporters with a specialist trade finance partner to assess supplier funding, shipping and the gap before customers pay.
◆ Funding is offered through one funder. To proceed, you must accept the funder’s terms and conditions.
Revolving facility
Support for approved supplier payments
Currency exposure
Support with foreign-currency planning
Trade costs
Understand costs before you commit
Stock visibility
Warehouse inventory in real time
Tell us about your next trade order
Start with your order and payment timing.
Built for cross-border trade
Trade with confidence.
Keep cash flowing.
Bring goods into South Africa or supply customers abroad. Explore funding and logistics for your next order while keeping working capital available for day-to-day business.
Trade finance for importers and exporters
Buy abroad. Sell beyond borders.
Supplier funding. Cross-border logistics. Cash flow.
Importing stock or fulfilling an overseas order can mean paying suppliers before your customer pays you. Our partner assesses your business, goods and payment cycle to establish the funding and logistics suitable for your transaction.
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Keep orders moving before customers pay
Need to pay suppliers before your customers pay you? Trade finance can help cover approved supplier payments for your import or export orders, so you can fulfil orders without using all the cash you need to run your business.
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Connect finance with cross-border delivery
Plan collection, shipping, insurance and customs requirements alongside your funding. Whether goods are coming into South Africa or leaving for a customer abroad, our partner confirms the services and costs for your route.
03
Know your costs and manage your stock
Understand the cost of completing the order before setting your selling price. Where warehousing is included, stock visibility helps you plan deliveries. Customer delivery arrangements and branded documents are agreed for your transaction.
Support for trade in both directions
Funding and Logistics Across Borders
Buy the goods. Reach your customer. Keep trading.
Connect the funding discussion with the practical steps of importing stock or supplying goods to overseas customers.Plan foreign-currency cash flow
A change in the rand can affect the cost of imported goods or the rand value of export receipts. Discuss the currencies and payment dates with our partner before committing to the order.Move goods into or out of South Africa
Our partner coordinates freight and assists with shipment insurance. Plan the route, collection and delivery requirements for your import or export order as part of the agreed service.Price the full cross-border journey
Check the clearance requirements and costs for your route. Import landed costs and export shipping costs help you work out the cost per item, set prices and assess your margin.See and manage your stock
Where your order includes storage in our partner’s warehouse, real-time inventory visibility helps you track available goods and plan dispatch or customer delivery.Keep your customer relationship
Agree how goods will reach your customer, locally or overseas. Branded delivery documents can be arranged where applicable, keeping your business visible throughout the customer experience.Turn cross-border opportunities into orders
How Import and Export Trade Finance Works
Three stages. From order to repayment.
Tell us about your order, let us guide you through the application, and review the funding offer. Once approved and accepted, our partner helps arrange supplier payment and shipping. You repay the funding on the agreed dates.1
Discuss your order and apply
Complete our enquiry form and we’ll contact you to explain how the funding works. Tell us what you are buying or selling and when payment is needed. We’ll help you prepare and submit your application to our funding partner for assessment.2
Accept the offer and arrange shipping
If approved, review the funding amount, costs and repayment dates. Once you accept our funding partner’s terms, supplier payment and the agreed shipping services are arranged to get your order moving.3
Receive or deliver goods and repay
Your imported goods are delivered to the agreed destination, or your export order is delivered to your customer. Collect payment from your customers and repay the funding on the dates set out in your agreement.
Your facility terms:
One specialist funder determines approval, costs and payment dates. You must accept its terms and conditions to proceed.
Discuss your trade cycle →
Know what you need to qualify
Minimum Requirements for Trade Finance
An established business. Clear financial information.
Importers and exporters must meet the following minimum requirements and provide the financial information needed for facility approval.
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At least 2 years trading
Your business must have been trading for a minimum of two years.
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R2 million+ annual turnover
Your business must generate annual turnover of at least R2 million.
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Financial statements
You must provide your business’s financial statements for assessment and approval of the facility.
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Latest management accounts
Your latest management accounts are required so our funding partner can assess your current business performance.Meeting these minimum requirements does not guarantee approval. Our funding partner assesses your business and determines the facility amount, costs and terms. To proceed with an approved facility, you must accept its terms and conditions.
Bring goods in. Reach customers abroad.An international order should be an opportunity to grow. Explore trade finance for importing stock or supplying overseas customers, with approved supplier funding and coordinated logistics to help bridge the gap before you get paid.
Fund your next trade order
Planning an import or export? Speak to Premier Finance about your goods, supplier costs and customer payment terms. We help you take the next step with our specialist funding partner.Questions importers and exporters ask
Import and Export Finance: Your Questions Answered
Understand funding, shipping costs and repayment before committing to your next international order.Can trade finance help with both imports and exports? +
Yes. You can enquire about funding for goods coming into South Africa or goods supplied to overseas customers. Our partner reviews your business and the specific order to confirm what it can fund. An approved facility can connect supplier payments with the agreed shipping and delivery services.
How does trade finance help my cash flow? +
When importing, you may need to pay an overseas supplier before your stock arrives or sells. When exporting, you may need to pay for goods before your overseas customer pays you. Trade finance can help bridge these gaps through approved supplier funding, leaving more working capital available for running your business.
What are the minimum requirements for approval? +
Your business must have been trading for at least two years and generate annual turnover of R2 million or more. You must provide your financial statements and latest management accounts for assessment and facility approval. Meeting these requirements does not guarantee approval; our funding partner makes the final decision.
Can our partner help with supplier payment terms? +
Yes. Share your supplier’s quotation, payment deadlines and the customer order or expected sales. Our partner reviews these alongside your funding needs and can assist with supplier payment terms. The payment arrangements must be agreed before the transaction proceeds.
How can exchange rates affect my order? +
For imports, a weaker rand can make an overseas supplier’s invoice more expensive. For exports, a stronger rand can reduce the rand value of a customer’s foreign-currency payment. Both can affect your margin. Our partner helps you review the currencies and payment timing, and confirms the available currency arrangements for your transaction.
How do I work out the full cost of an import or export? +
Start with the cost of the goods, then add the shipping, insurance, clearance, applicable duties and taxes, delivery and agreed finance costs you are responsible for. For imports, this is often called the landed cost. For exports, the costs you carry depend on your delivery agreement with the buyer. A clear breakdown helps you price each item and assess the expected profit before accepting an order.
Who arranges shipping and customs for my order? +
Our partner coordinates the agreed freight, insurance and customs services for goods moving into or out of South Africa. Your route and delivery agreement determine which services are needed and which costs you pay. These arrangements are confirmed for your shipment so you can plan delivery to your business or your customer.
How do I keep track of my stock in storage? +
If your goods are held in our partner’s warehouse, its stock management system provides real-time inventory visibility. This helps you see what is available and plan dispatch or customer deliveries. Storage, access and stock-release arrangements are confirmed for your import or export transaction.
Can my customers receive deliveries under my business name? +
Our partner can arrange customer deliveries using your business’s branded delivery documents, where agreed. For an export order, the required customs and shipping documents must also be in place. The documents and delivery responsibilities are confirmed for the destination, while you keep your customer relationship.
When must I repay the trade finance facility? +
Your repayment dates and costs are set out in the facility agreement from our funding partner. It reviews the time between paying suppliers and receiving payment from your local or overseas customers when assessing the order. You must repay on the agreed dates even if a customer pays late. You must accept our funding partner’s terms and conditions before using an approved facility.
Make your next trade order count
Discuss Your Import or Export Funding
Tell Premier Finance what goods you are buying or selling, where they are moving and when suppliers and customers need to pay. We help you start the funding conversation with our specialist trade finance partner.
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Import and export enquiries
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Finance and logistics together
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One specialist funder