ICC renews CDCS partnership with Institute of Financial Services

CDCS® is delivered and examined by the Institute of Financial Services. It is the globally-recognized qualification for documentary credit specialists – those professionals who manage the secure payments that underpin international trade transactions – and is acknowledged as the benchmark of competence for international practitioners in letters of credit.

Through the partnership, ICC and the Institute of Financial Services will work together to enhance the programme on an on-going basis and augment its uptake across the globe. The partnership will support both the adoption of international standards for letters of credit and the career development of documentary credit professionals.

CDCS® has been developed in consultation with industry experts to ensure that the skills gained through the programme of study reflect best practice. It was first examined in 1999 and since then, CDCS professionals from more than 75 countries have taken the qualification.

Anne Kiem, Chief Executive of the Institute of Financial Services said: “This partnership, between the foremost business organization in the world and the UK’s leading financial education body, will ensure that the CDCS qualification continues to reinforce the global rules that govern international trade and enhance the professionalism of documentary credit specialists, wherever they are operating.”

Thierry Senechal, Executive Secretary of the ICC Banking Commission said:

“The international trade rules set out by ICC ensure that documentary credit practitioners from around the globe operate to the same high and consistent standards and work within the same parameters, ultimately helping to reduce costly document refusal rates.

“With ICC’s rules underpinned by the Institute of Financial Services’ unrivalled CDCS qualification, documentary credit specialists will be equipped with the necessary skills and professionalism to strengthen international trade and boost commerce.”