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Both Gary Collyer and David Meynell were members of the original ICC Working Group on the Supplement to UCP 500 for Electronic Presentation (eUCP).

First published as Version 1.0 on 31 March 2002, Version 1.1 has been in effect since the implementation of UCP 600 in July 2007 and was updated to bring it in line with the changes in terminology in UCP 600.

The full name is ‘Supplement to the Uniform Customs and Practice of Documentary Credits for Electronic Presentation.'

It is structured to align with UCP 600 and, as such, the rules follow a logical progression. Future versions will be released as and when required according to technological developments.  

Credits subject to eUCP version 1.1 are also, by default, subject to UCP 600. However, in such circumstances, the content of eUCP prevails over UCP 600 in the event of conflict.

The content of eUCP and UCP can be considered as meeting four distinct requirements for electronic presentation:

• Articles of UCP 600 that are not present in eUCP such as those relating to undertakings and obligations of the banks (articles 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12).
• Articles of eUCP concerning electronic records that enhance, but do not conflict with, those in UCP 600 concerning paper documents, e.g.,eUCP article e3(a).
• Articles of eUCP concerning electronic records that differ from those in UCP 600 concerning paper documents, e.g.,eUCP articles 11 & 12.
• Articles of eUCP that change the nature of the UCP 600 rule whether relating to electronic records or paper documents, e.g.,eUCP articles e2, e5(c), e5(e), e7(a), e7(b), e8.

Whilst it is true to state that eUCP has not achieved extensive usage, this does not detract from the value of its content. eUCP was one of the reference points for developing the Uniform Rules for Bank Payment Obligations (URBPO) and could still be used in its own right.

As a matter of interest, there was actually a precursor to eUCP known as the Uniform Rules and Guidelines for Electronic Trade and Settlement (URGETS). URGETS had been developed under the auspices of the ICC Electronic Commerce Project but never actually came to fruition - although the authors of this blog still have a draft of the proposed text.

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