When Your Customers Are Offshore, So Is Your Risk

New Zealand earns its living offshore. As an exporting nation we trade with the rest of the world every day, and if your customers sit beyond our shores, so does your credit risk.

Understanding the credit risk of an international customer matters just as much as understanding the one down the road. It is usually far harder to get a clear view of, and the consequences of getting it wrong are larger, because goods have often already left the country before the first invoice falls due.

It is worth reminding our customers that they already have that view. Through our long standing partnership with Creditsafe, CreditWorks customers can order a credit report on a company almost anywhere in the world. That is over 430 million companies available instantly online across more than 200 countries and territories, and where a business is not already on file we go and investigate it for you. Same team, same login, same phone call.

What an international report gives you:

• One relationship, a global view. Order an international report the same way you order a domestic one. No new supplier, no new contract, nothing new to learn.
• More than 200 countries and territories covered. From your largest export markets through to a one off order from somewhere you have never traded before.
• Over 430 million company records. Collected from more than 9,000 local sources through Creditsafe’s network of 26 offices and local partners, country by country rather than bought in bulk.
• A risk view you can act on. One international score from A to E, on the same scale with the same risk descriptions in every country, plus a maximum credit limit and, where local data allows, trade payment behaviour. A customer in Singapore can be assessed against the same thinking you already apply at home.
• Ownership and group structure. Shareholders, holding and subsidiary details, corporate linkages and directors, where local filing allows. See who sits behind the company in front of you, and whether you are already exposed elsewhere in the same group.
• Decisions made before you ship. Set terms, secure your position or ask for payment up front while you still have the choice.
• Ongoing watch, not a one off check. In key markets, including Australia, China, the United States, Japan, South Korea and the United Kingdom, you can monitor an offshore customer and be alerted to changes in credit score, credit limit, company status, directors and financials.
• Support in your time zone. Talk it through with the CreditWorks team in Auckland, not a helpdesk on the other side of the world.

Talk to us about international reports

If you have customers offshore, or you are being asked to extend terms into a market you do not know well, come and talk to us. We will walk you through what an international report looks like on a real company in your book, and what it would tell you.

The world your customers trade in has been getting larger for years. The view you have of it should keep pace. Our partnership with Creditsafe has been quietly doing that work for a long time, and it is available to you today.

As always, please feel free to reach out. Whether it is a question about a single offshore customer or your wider credit risk, we are here to help.