Barclays Business Abroad

The workshop

Developed in partnership with UK Trade & Investment, this immersive half-day workshop introduces you to a local UKTI representative and aims to give newcomers expert advice and guidance on the markets they will be dealing with, equipping them with the knowledge and capabilities to better survive the pressures of international trade.

Workshop participants will receive:

• Support in visiting potential markets
• Free action plans
• Customised and subsidised training
• Support from local experts

Good to know

• The workshop is provided by UKTI and hosted by Barclays, and all workshop material has been developed and provided by UKTI for Barclays. As the workshop is provided by UKTI, the registration process is via UKTI's website. You'll be responsible for your own travel and accommodation arrangements and expenses
• You can book a maximum of 2 people for the workshop on your Barclays Business Abroad subscription. To book a place on the workshop you'll need to follow the link in your Barclays Business Abroad welcome email. There is no booking fee and you can cancel at any time without incurring a fee, provided you give 5 working days’ notice
• If you cancel your subscription to Barclays Business Abroad before attending a workshop, you'll no longer be able to participate, regardless of whether you have booked into a session or not
• In the unlikely event that we need to cancel a workshop, we'll give you 24 hours’ notice. If there are fewer than 5 attendees in any workshop, the session will be rescheduled

The accounts

Our currency current accounts are essential if you’re dealing with multiple currencies, helping you to minimise the effect of exchange rate fluctuations by giving you the ability to make and receive payments in the currency you trade in.

As a Barclays Business Abroad subscriber, you won’t pay any quarterly fee on your currency current account (normally £7.50 per quarter), reducing your overheads while helping you efficiently manage your money.

Good to know

• While the quarterly account maintenance fee will be waived, all other charges will apply
• It'll take us 5 days to open a new currency current account for you, and you can have as many free currency current accounts as you want during your Barclays Business Abroad subscription. If you already have a currency current account, we'll begin waiving your quarterly fee
• If you cancel your subscription to Barclays Business Abroad, we'll begin charging the full quarterly fee to your currency current account where applicable
• Our currency current accounts are available in approximately 75 currencies that are freely traded in London. However, the currency current accounts we offer are subject to change at any point without notice. And in the event that we no longer support the currency you're trading in, we could close your account. You can obtain a full list of the currencies we support from your Barclays Business Manager

The service

As a Barclays Business Abroad subscriber, you can get notified of any exchange rate fluctuations that affect your trading, free of charge, with our exchange rate alert service – iAlert.

It’s so simple – you choose which currencies you want to keep an eye on and whenever they meet or exceed the upper or lower limits you’ve set up, we’ll drop an email so you can take appropriate action.

Good to know

• The service is free to use, provided you subscribe to Barclays Business Abroad. There are no additional charges
• You’ll need to register a valid email address to gain access to iAlert
• You can set up as many alerts as you want – and you can choose whether you receive alerts via email or when you log in to iAlert. We’ll send you an alert any time your chosen currency pairs reach or exceed the level you set
• If you cancel your subscription to Barclays Business Abroad, your access to iAlerts will also be cancelled

The service

Export documents are a vital component of the international trade process, as they’re used for conveying information to other parties before, during and after shipment. You’ll get a 25% discount on Acorn Interactive’s export document preparation services, helping you to ensure your products have the correct transit, commercial and statutory documentation they need to successfully reach their destination:

• Data is only entered once
• Controlled sharing of documents with third parties
• Real time access from around the world

You can take a more do-it-yourself approach, or – if you need support or are short of time – Acorn Interactive has a team of professionals who can create all export documents on your behalf. Here’s a list of the most common export documents:

Commercial or Export Invoice

Used to obtain payment for goods, this document also provides detailed information about the goods shipped, such as weights & dimensions, tariff numbers, country of origin and a signed declaration that the information is correct. This is needed to comply with the requirements of Customs and other authorities and failure to provide this information can lead to goods being held by Customs and demurrage costs being incurred while information is obtained.

Export Packing List

May be required for most shipments and should contain details about the consignment including the number and kind of packages, weights and dimensions, package markings, contents of each package, and a reference to the Export Invoice. Failure to provide this information may cause transit delays at ports and Customs posts and may lead to delays when clearing Customs at the destination.

Export Cargo Shipping Instructions (ECSI)

Provides instructions to the shipper or carrier and, in addition to providing information about the goods, states the route to their destination, transport requirements, Customs information, who is to receive documents and who is to be charged for various services. Incorrect information can lead to transport delays with potential additional costs being incurred by the exporter.

Dangerous Goods Note (DGN)

It is a mandatory requirement when transporting dangerous goods that they be accompanied by a document declaring the dangers of the goods. UN Model Regulations enable exporters to classify their goods and identify the required packaging and labelling. The DGN is an internationally accepted format for recording this information. Failure to comply can lead to prosecution.

Certificates of Origin (EC & Arab)

A Certificate of Origin may be required by the customer as evidence of the origin of the goods and may be required in order to get paid. Certificates of Origin must be completed on pre-printed stationery and must be stamped by a Chamber of Commerce before they are valid.

EUR1 & A.TR Movement Certificates

The EU has preferential trading agreements with certain countries enabling goods to be imported at a lower rate of import duty. To obtain these special rates, an EUR1 must be completed on pre-printed stationery and stamped by a Chamber of Commerce. The A.TR Movement Certificate applies specifically for goods shipped from the EU to Turkey.

Bank Collection Document & Bill of Exchange

When the bank acts as an intermediary between the importer and exporter to handle distribution of documents and payments, a Bank Collection Document is used. A Bill of Exchange, also known as a draft, represents the monetary value of a shipment and must be paid before any accompanying documents will be released.

Good to know

• This service is provided by Acorn Interactive – a third-party supplier. You will have a direct relationship with Acorn Interactive for your export document needs and will have to accept Acorn Interactive’s terms of business
• You’ll receive a 25% discount on the export document preparation service provided by Acorn Interactive, no matter how many times you use it. Your discount will apply to each individual use of the service
• You can find a full list of the documents and services provided by Acorn Interactive at www.acorninteractive.co.uk/Home/Barclays.aspx although these are subject to change at any time at Acorn Interactive’s discretion

The discount

Putting in place a secure and efficient method of processing payments should be one of your top priorities when entering the international trade market. To get you off to the right start, Barclays Business Abroad offers you an exclusive 25% discount on all standard UK outgoing and incoming international payment fees from your sterling or currency current account.

See our Business International Tariff 420 KB sheet for details.

Good to know

• Only international payments made from or received into your sterling current accounts, currency current accounts or currency deposit accounts are discounted
• Your discount privileges will take effect within 3 working days of becoming a Barclays Business Abroad customer
• We’ll automatically apply the 25% discount to your international payment fees, so you won’t see any refunds on your statement – the amount debited from your account will be the fee rate after the 25% discount
• Any charges you may incur from other companies on your Barclays accounts as a result of making an international payment are not discounted, and we are not liable for these
• If you cancel your subscription to Barclays Business Abroad, you will begin being charged the full standard fees for international payments. You can find a full list of these on this website
• We reserve the right to change the level of discount at any time, but we’ll provide you with notice before doing so

The reports

Experian offers freshly researched international business reports to Barclays Business Abroad customers at a 40% discount, providing you with accurate information to help control your international risk exposure, including:

• Financial information on over 45 million businesses across 225 countries
• Detailed business summaries, including company details, credit status, risk score, historic payment performance, public record information, legal notices and judgments*
• Full ownership and director information*

* This level of detail may only be available in European and US company reports.

Good to know

• This service is provided by Experian – a third-party supplier. You will have a direct relationship with Experian for your international business reporting needs and will have to accept Experian’s terms of business
• You’ll receive a 40% discount on the services provided by Experian, no matter how many times you use them. Your discount will apply to each individual use of the service
• You’ll make payment directly to Experian with a credit or debit card over the phone
• If you cancel your subscription to Barclays Business Abroad, you’ll no longer receive a discount on international credit reports. You can still go directly to Experian for their reporting services, but you’ll pay the full cost