bill of exchange

General term for a document demanding payment. Bloomberg Financial Dictionary

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bill of exchange ˌbill of exˈchange abbreviation b/​e or bill noun bills of exchange _PLURALFORM [countable] BANKING

a document ordering someone to pay a particular amount on a fixed date, used especially in international trade:

• The exporter's bank sends the bill of exchange to its overseas branch in the importer's country.

• When the buyer accepts a bill of exchange (= agrees to pay it ) , the exporter may arrange for it to be discounted.

• Essing dishonoured four bills of exchange (= failed to pay them ) drawn by Byrd to the amount of £2.39 million.

ˌbacked ˈbill [countable] BANKING

a bill of exchange accepted by a bank

ˈbank bill [countable] BANKING

a bill of exchange given by a bank and instructing another bank to pay money to someone

ˌbills in a ˈset [plural] BANKING COMMERCE

three copies of a bill of exchange, sent separately by an exporter to an importer in case one gets lost. The importer only needs to accept one copy

ˌbills ˈpayable [plural] ACCOUNTING BANKING

bills of exchange which a company has accepted and will have to pay as part of the company's Liabilities

ˌbills reˈceivable [plural] ACCOUNTING BANKING

bills of exchange which will be paid to a company as part of the company's assets

comˈmercial ˌbill also ˈtrade bill [countable] BANKING COMMERCE

a bill of exchange used in the buying and selling of goods:

• Most trade bills are discounted once and then held to maturity.

disˈcharged bill [countable] BANKING

a bill of exchange that has been paid

disˈcounted bill [countable] BANKING

a bill of exchange that has been bought by a bank for less than it will be worth when it becomes due for payment

ˌdocuments-against-acˈceptance bill [countable] BANKING COMMERCE

a bill of exchange addressed to a person such as an importer who is due to receive goods. The person must accept the bill of exchange before the bank will give them the documents needed to get possession of the goods

ˌdocuments-against-ˈpayment bill [countable] BANKING COMMERCE

a bill of exchange addressed to a person such as an importer who is due to receive goods. The person must pay the bill of exchange before the bank will give them the documents needed to get possession of the goods

ˈeligible bill [countable] BANKING

in Britain, a bank bill that has been accepted by one of about 100 banks officially approved by the Bank of England, and which the Bank of England has agreed to discount (= give immediate payment for) again:

• The eligible bill market is one of the largest elements of the London money market.

fine ˈtrade bill [countable] BANKING

a bill of exchange which has little risk of not being paid, and is therefore sold at a lower discount

non-ˈprime bill [countable] BANKING

a bill of exchange which has quite a high risk of not being paid and is therefore sold at a higher discount

ˈsight bill [countable] BANKING

a bill of exchange that must be paid as soon as it is received:

• Sight bills must be paid by the importer on presentation.

ˈterm bill also ˈtime bill or ˈusance bill [countable] BANKING

a bill of exchange that must be paid at a specified time after it is written:

• More useful are term bills where a period of credit is allowed.

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   Old financial instrument used to finance international trade. A bill of exchange is an order to pay a specified amount of money to the holder of the bill either at a set future date (a time draft) or on presentation of the bill (a sight draft). Also known as eligible bills, commercial bills, trade bills and BAs.

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bill of exchange UK US noun [C] (plural bills of exchange) (also bill, WRITTEN ABBREVIATION b/e)

► COMMERCE a document, used especially in international trade, that orders a person or organization to pay a particular amount of money at a particular time for goods or services: »

An exporter may obtain payment on an accepted bill of exchange before its due date by presenting the bill to his bank.