To add a new buyer to your policy and request a credit limit approval, follow these steps:
To be covered for sales to your buyer, you need to have the country, province (for domestic coverage), and payment terms included in your policy.
If the country or province of your buyer is not already on your policy, you will be prompted to enter the anticipated sales for that country or province, and you will be required to accept the policy modification to add this information.
If you don’t accept the addition of the country or province, your buyer limit will not be approved. To accept the country (or province, if applicable) addition, see instructions for How To Accept/Decline an Offer.
1. Click on the My Portfolio menu. On the Portfolio tab you will see a list of your current approved buyers. If you have multiple policies, you can filter credit approvals by policy number. Export policy numbers contain an “E” and domestic contain a “D”. Select the policy number from the drop-down list and click Submit.
2. Click on the Add Buyer button. (Alternatively, you can click on the Manage menu and select Add a Buyer).
3. Under Company Search, enter information about your buyer and click on the Submit button.
Please ensure you are entering the legal Company Name and address for your buyer. If you are unsure, you can find this information on the Purchase Order or Contract for who is legally obligated to pay. If you put another name (trade, operating), this could add delays for our team to identify your buyer and review your credit limit request.
4. The system will display a list of potential matches. Click on the Select button for the desired company from the list of results
If the buyer you are looking for does not appear in the list of results, you will need to do a Manual identification request (see further below).
5. On the Buyer detail screen that appears, click on the Manage Limit button in the top right corner.
If you have multiple policies, you will be prompted to select the policy before the Manage Limit menu will be displayed. Policy numbers starting with SD or CD represent domestic policies, whereas policy numbers starting with SE or CE identify export policies where the goods or services are being exported outside of Canada.
6. In the Manage limit window that appears, click on Request Credit Limit.
7. In the Credit Limit Application pop-up window that appears, complete all the necessary fields and attach any relevant files such as the buyer’s financial reports or credit reports. When complete, click on the Submit button. An email confirmation will be sent to you, acknowledging the request.
Note: If the buyer is in Canada, you will also be asked “Are you shipping the goods or providing the service outside of Canada?”
If the buyer’s country and province (if applicable) are not already included in your policy, you will be asked to include the annual insurable volume for the country or province. This will create a policy modification task to be accepted before the buyer limit can be approved. You will be notified of this modification by email. To accept the country (or province, if applicable) addition, see instructions for How to Accept/Decline an Offer.
You will receive the error “This request cannot be processes online, please contact EDC” after clicking Submit if:
- You have selected the domestic policy with a Canadian buyer and then answered Yes to "Are you shipping the goods or providing the services outside of Canada?"
- You have selected the export policy with a Canadian buyer and then answered No to "Are you shipping the goods or providing the services outside of Canada?"
8. In the Credit Limit Request window, the system will display whether the request is approved (green check mark), declined (red “x”), or pending (hourglass image). You will receive a second email confirming this decision.
To add a buyer which doesn’t appear in the search results, follow these steps:
Manual identification is available in the bottom left-hand corner of the company search screen
1. Click on here in the box, as shown below:
2. The Manual identification form will appear. Provide as much information as possible in order to process the identification and click on the Submit button.
Please ensure, at minimum, you are entering the legal Company Name and address for your buyer. If you are unsure, you can find this information on the Purchase Order or Contract for who is legally obligated to pay. If you put another name (trade, operating), this could add delays for our team to identify your buyer and review your credit limit request.
This registers the buyer and will bring you to the Buyer information screen.
3. On the Buyer information screen, click on the Manage Limit button in the top right corner.
4. In the Manage Limit window that appears, click on Request Credit Limit
5. In the Credit Limit Application pop up window, complete all the necessary fields and attach any relevant files, such as the buyer’s financial reports or credit reports. When complete, click on the Submit button. An email confirmation will be sent to you, acknowledging the request.
Note: If the buyer is in Canada, you will also be asked “Are you shipping the goods or providing the service outside of Canada?”
If the buyer’s country and province (if applicable) are not already included in your policy, you will be asked to include the annual insurable volume for the country or province. This will create a policy modification task to be accepted before the buyer limit can be approved. You will be notified of this modification by email. To accept the country (or province, if applicable) addition, see instructions for How to Accept/Decline an Offer.
6. In the Credit Limit Request window, the system will display whether the request is approved (green check mark), declined (red “x”), or pending (hourglass image). You will receive a second email confirming this decision.
You will receive the error “This request cannot be processed online, please contact EDC.” after clicking Submit if...
1. You have selected the domestic policy with a Canadian buyer and then answered Yes to "Are you shipping the goods or providing the services outside of Canada?"
2. You have selected the export policy with a Canadian buyer and then answered No to "Are you shipping the goods or providing the services outside of Canada?"
Need help?
Speak to our customer care team weekdays between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. ET at 1-866-716-7201 or support@edc.ca.