D/A (Documents against Acceptance)
A collection payment method where the buyer receives shipping documents by accepting a bill of exchange and pays on a later due date.
TL;DR: Under D/A, the buyer gets the shipping documents by signing a promise to pay at a future date, such as 60 or 90 days later. It gives the buyer credit, but puts most of the risk on the seller.
D/A is a type of documentary collection, like D/P. The seller ships the goods and sends the documents through its bank to a bank in the buyer’s country. Instead of paying at once, the buyer accepts a time draft, also called a bill of exchange. The bank then releases the documents, and the buyer can collect the goods.
Payment is due on the maturity date shown on the draft. Banks do not guarantee the payment. If the buyer does not pay when the draft falls due, the seller no longer controls the goods and must pursue the buyer directly, which can be slow and costly across borders.
Because of this risk, sellers usually offer D/A only to long-term customers with a strong payment history, or when they have export credit insurance. It is less common than T/T or L/C for first orders from China.
For buyers, D/A improves cash flow, since you can receive and even sell the goods before you pay. An accepted draft is still a legal promise to pay, so treat the due date seriously. Compare with D/P, L/C and T/T.