涉外产品销售，无论外贸企业所销售的产品属于哪一范畴之内，都必然会涉及到DP或者是信用证等，那么外贸交易中信用证风险大还是DP风险大呢?
资深外贸人对前者是这样定义的，“It refers to a written certificate issued by a bank at the request of the importer (buyer) to ensure that the exporter (seller) is liable for payment of the goods. Within a letter of credit, the bank authorizes the exporter to draw on the bank or its designated bank for a sum not exceeding the stipulated amount under the conditions specified in the letter of credit, and to collect the payment on schedule at the designated place with the accompanying shipping documents in accordance with the stipulations.”
后者被定义为“Documents are given to your bank, and your bank sends them to the other bank (usually the bank designated by the customer). After receiving the bill, the other bank notifies the customer, and the customer pays the bill.”
从如上介绍中我们可以发现，信用证在外贸交易中其可靠性会更高一些，由于在这其中会有银行审单等相关因素，所以安全性较高的同时，其在交易过程中所收取的费用也会更高一些。DP则不然，在这其中并没有银行审单等相关因素存在其中，因此交易中费用支出也会少一些，不过其可靠性将会降低。
可以看到这样一种情况，有很多外贸企业在和海外用户交易时总会强调采用信用证，其原因就在于这其中含有银行信用，当交易展开之后，只要提交的单据不出现偏差，银行就会及时交付款项。而DP则并非如此，它和商业信用有关，当行情发生较大的变动时，用户可以选择放弃赎单。行业中有资深交易人也这样对其定性“The letter of credit has high security, which means that customers first apply for the issuance of the letter of credit and then deliver the goods; D/P belongs to one kind of collection, that is, you send the goods first and entrust the bank to collect the money, but if the customer does not redeem the bill, you can't. In a sense, the flow of D/P and credit documents is opposite.”通过这段阐述，我们可以知道，信用证交易过程中为什么安全性会更高一些，是因为产品购入方首先申请开证，当产品销售方企业拿到信用证后，才会将产品运输至用户需求的目的港，因此在这一过程之中，产品销售方企业几乎不会承担太大的风险。
如下案例：
Mr. Dells:
We are very glad to cooperate with you in business. The ceramic tile products sold by our company mainly include 5 categories and 13 small categories. The total price of your products is 3.75 million yuan. As we have cooperated with you for the first time, we hope you can send us the L/C in this transaction by mail before the agreed time. We will arrange batch production for your company, which is scheduled to be completed from April 28 to April 30. We will arrange shipment of the products to Dalian Port from March 1 to March 5, waiting for shipment by the designated vessel.
德尔斯先生：
很高兴能够和贵公司展开业务合作，本次我公司所销售的瓷砖类型产品主要包括5大类别，13个小类贵公司所购入产品总价375万元，首次和贵公司展开合作，此次交易中将以信用证方式展开，希望贵公司能够在此前所约定的时间前将信用证邮寄给我方，我方会为贵公司安排批次产品生产，预计于4月28日至4月30日完成产品生产，会在5月1日到56日安排将产品运达大连港，等待贵方指定船只装船。
该陶瓷产品销售公司对待另外一个有合作关系的海外用户时则采用了DP交易模式。
Mr. Hamilton
The total amount of outdoor wall tiles ordered by your company is 4 million yuan. The transportation mode of this product is the same as that of the previous one. The cost of land transportation and related insurance are in our company's charge. After the products will be transported to the Shanghai Port products designated by your company, the related risks will be borne by your company. This is the sixth cooperation between our two companies. We hope that the cooperation will be pleasant after that. This transaction is done by DP side. Formula reached.
汉密尔顿先生
贵公司所订购的户外墙砖共计400万元，本次产品运输和此前运输方式一致，陆路运输费用以及相关保险费用由我公司负责，产品将运输到贵公司指定的上海港，产品上船之后相关风险由贵公司承担，这是双方公司的第6次合作，希望此后合作依然愉快，本次交易以DP方式达成。
从如上案例中可以发现，该外贸企业针对不同的用户时，选择了不同的交易模式，对待新用户是这样表述的，“Because of the first cooperation with your company, the letter of credit will be used in this transaction. I hope you can send me the letter of credit by mail before the agreed time.”而对待老用户时则以“The transaction was concluded by DP.”一句话带过，从这样的案例中就可以发现和海外用户交易时，如果对于对方的企业了解得并不透彻，外贸企业就必须关注到交易安全问题，在实际交易中要使用信用证方式，如果已经和海外企业有长期合作关系，并且双方都非常信任，实际交易过程中则可以DP为主，虽然这两种交易模式具有一定的差异性，但并非不是完全固定的，根据贸易双方的关系不同可以在交易中随时转换。
