The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), has written a level of endorsement of the Uniform Rules for Forfaiting (URF 800).

The letter, addressed to the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)’s secretary general, John Danilovich, says that UNCITRAL “commends the use of the URF 800, as appropriate, in forfaiting transactions”. It also says that is expresses its appreciation to the ICC for transmitting the rules, and notes that they constitute a “valuable contribution to the facilitation of international receivable financing and thus international trade”.

The URF 800 – the first internationally approved rules of its kind for the forfaiting industry – was developed by the ICC in partnership with the International Trade & Forfaiting Association (ITFA) and came into effect in January 2013.

Sean Edwards, chair of ITFA, tells GTR that the development is important not just for the forfaiting industry, “which can point to an understanding and acceptance of its rules and techniques at the highest international level”, but also for the wider receivables finance industry, “which now has another toolkit of proven relevance and quality”.

The lag between adoption and formal approval is due to the lengthy period of time it takes to go through the formal approval process, Edwards says.