A service provided by banks to sellers in obtaining payments. This service is usually transacted by the seller's bank through the buyer's bank, with the latter presenting the shipping documents to the buyer in exchange for payment or for signing a promissory note like instrument called a time draft. Bloomberg Financial Dictionary
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documentary collection UK US noun [C or U] COMMERCE
► in international trade, an arrangement in which a bank in a country importing goods receives documents showing that the goods have been sent but does not pay for the goods until it has received payment from the importer
Financial and business terms. 2012.