Complete an initial review, then submit individual shipments for approval. You pay any upfront amount required under your supplier terms. Once your logistics provider controls the cargo and the bill of lading is issued, your supplier balance is paid direct and your ocean freight is advanced. You repay before release.
Rates from 1.45% per 30 days on the supplier balance advance.
Your rate depends on your credit profile, the shipment, the route, the supplier and the jurisdiction. Your transaction-specific APR, total financing cost and repayment date are shown before you commit.
No origination, arrangement, documentation, wire, platform or monthly fees. Eligible ocean freight is advanced at no financing charge and repaid at face value. A default margin applies to amounts unpaid from the sixth day after maturity.
How it works
Two steps per shipment.
Initial information can be submitted in a few minutes. Onboarding happens once, and you choose shipment by shipment, with each shipment reviewed and approved separately.
01 · Ship
Shipment confirmed, supplier paid
You pay your usual deposit. Once your logistics provider takes control of the cargo and the bill of lading is issued, your supplier receives the balance direct, and interest accrues on that advance. Rates from 1.45% per 30 days on the supplier balance advance. Your transaction-specific APR, total financing cost and repayment date are shown before you commit. Eligible ocean freight is advanced at no financing charge and repaid at face value. No origination, arrangement, documentation, wire, platform or monthly fees. If the cargo does not ship, nothing is paid.
02 · Release
Settle before release
Repay the agreed amount in cash, or apply the purchase price from Rhofin's purchase of an eligible receivable from a previously delivered shipment. Once the amount due is settled, release instructions are issued and the cargo keeps moving.
Available only for an eligible receivable from an earlier delivered shipment. If the receivable is not eligible, the inventory-finance transaction is settled in cash. See Important information clause 10.
The cargo moves only against Rhofin's release instruction, under a procedure agreed with your logistics provider before the first transaction. Rhofin issues the instruction within one business day of repayment.
Best for importers who:
✓Ship US-bound ocean cargo about four times a year or more
✓Pay supplier balances before cargo is landed or released
✓Can settle before release, but prefer not to pay weeks earlier
✓Use, or can use, a participating logistics provider
✓Want shipment-by-shipment financing rather than a new standing line
✓Want to preserve cash for the next PO, duties, freight, payroll or customer commitments
Your Bank Relationship
Short-term. Shipment-specific.
Rhofin is designed for the period before cargo release, while the financed goods are still under logistics-provider control. The financing is tied to specific eligible cargo and is reviewed against your existing facility structure during onboarding. Your bank line is designed to sit alongside it.
Reviewed at onboarding
Bank-aware by design
Rhofin reviews your existing facility structure during onboarding and can provide shipment-level documentation where required.
Specific cargo
Shipment-specific collateral, not a blanket lien.
Rhofin's standard collateral consists of the specific financed cargo and its identifiable proceeds. Rhofin does not ordinarily take a blanket lien over unrelated business assets. The financing is full recourse, and any additional credit support is disclosed before signing. Existing lender rights, and any required consent, release or subordination, are reviewed during onboarding.
Short
Ends when you take the goods.
Financing runs for the length of the voyage. Repayment falls due when the cargo arrives at the destination CFS. Nothing revolving, nothing lingering on your books.
Before you commit
What you're agreeing to.
The terms that matter most, in one place. Full terms are in your financing documents and are shown before you commit.
Shipment-specific collateral, not a blanket lien.
Rhofin holds a negotiable to-order bill of lading. That gives Rhofin control of the cargo, not ownership, so you keep title to the goods and remain the importer of record. Rhofin also takes a purchase-money security interest in the specific financed cargo and its identifiable proceeds, as described in the transaction documents and applicable UCC filings, rather than a blanket lien over unrelated inventory, receivables or equipment.
The financing is full recourse.
If sale of the cargo does not cover what is owed, you remain liable for the shortfall.
If you do not repay, Rhofin can sell the cargo.
Rhofin has committed to use commercially reasonable efforts to complete a disposition within 90 days after maturity, subject to the exceptions in the transaction documents, including legal process, customs or regulatory holds, casualty, general average, salvage, the absence of a commercially reasonable market, and your own acts or omissions.
Cargo is released on Rhofin's instruction.
For a financed shipment, the cargo moves only against Rhofin's release instruction, under a procedure agreed with your logistics provider before your first transaction. Rhofin issues the instruction within one business day of repayment.
You cannot direct release while the cargo is financed.
While your logistics provider holds financed cargo under Rhofin's control arrangement, you cannot instruct it to release, divert, re-consign or transfer the cargo, switch the bill of lading, or arrange a telex or express release. Release and disposition instructions come from Rhofin. You retain title to the goods and remain the importer of record.
Duties, taxes, demurrage and detention are not financed.
They remain yours, exactly as they would be without financing.
Check your own facility documents.
Most bank facilities restrict additional debt and additional liens. Rhofin reviews your facility structure at onboarding and notifies your lender of the specific goods financed. Whether Rhofin financing is permitted under your own documents is for you and your lender to confirm.
This is a summary, not the agreement. Terms vary by transaction and are set at approval. Financing is subject to eligibility, credit approval and applicable law.
Common Questions
Common importer questions.
Will this conflict with my existing bank line?
Most bank facilities restrict additional debt and additional liens, so the answer depends on your documents. During the financing window the goods are with your logistics provider, not in your warehouse. Rhofin's financing is limited, short-term and shipment-specific: we review your existing facility structure at onboarding, notify your lender of the specific goods financed, and can provide shipment-level documentation where required. Whether Rhofin financing is permitted under your own facility documents is for you and your lender to confirm.
Do I have to finance every shipment?
No. You choose shipment by shipment. Finance the ones that need funding, pay the rest from cash.
What determines eligibility?
Your shipping history with your logistics provider, the trade lane, and the cargo itself. We confirm eligibility during onboarding, before you commit to anything. Price is a separate question. Your rate depends on your credit profile, the shipment, the route, the supplier and the jurisdiction.
Who is the importer of record? Who pays duties?
You are, and you do. Rhofin is a financing platform, not a trader. Customs, duties and title to your goods stay with you.
Can Rhofin support the booking-to-cash cycle?
Yes, across successive shipments. Inventory finance covers eligible supplier balances and freight before cargo release. Once an earlier shipment has been delivered, Rhofin can purchase an eligible receivable and apply the purchase price to settle or support a later shipment. Together, the two products extend liquidity from booking through customer payment.
Can I use receivables from one shipment to support another?
Yes. Rhofin purchases an eligible invoice from a previously delivered shipment, and the purchase price is applied toward the amount due on the current shipment. Once that amount is settled, release instructions are issued and the cargo keeps moving.
Available only for an eligible receivable from an earlier delivered shipment. If the receivable is not eligible, the inventory-finance transaction is settled in cash. See Important information clause 10.
Does Rhofin finance the gap between cargo release and POD?
Not currently through inventory finance. That period can involve different credit risk because the cargo is no longer under pre-release logistics control.
Is Rhofin financing always a fixed percentage of the order?
No. Supplier payment terms vary. Rhofin finances your supplier balance based on the shipment, supplier terms, logistics verification and credit approval. On a $50,000 order with 30/70 terms, that is $35,000 advanced to your supplier. The split is your supplier's payment terms rather than a Rhofin rate, and both the amount financed and the price are set per transaction.
Illustrative example only. Not an offer of credit. Your amount financed, APR, total cost and repayment date are quoted in full before you commit. See Important information clause 5.
What if I can't repay by the release date?
Repayment falls due on the maturity date, when your cargo arrives at the destination CFS and is available for collection. Interest continues to accrue until you repay. Rates from 1.45% per 30 days on the supplier balance advance. Your transaction-specific APR, total financing cost and repayment date are shown before you commit. A default margin applies to amounts unpaid from the sixth day after maturity. If a balance stays unpaid, Rhofin can sell the financed cargo to recover what is owed, using commercially reasonable efforts to complete a disposition within 90 days after maturity, subject to the exceptions in your documents. You remain responsible for any shortfall.
Who pays demurrage and detention if release is delayed?
Those charges are yours, the same as they would be without financing. Once you repay, Rhofin issues release instructions within one business day.
What if customs detains the cargo, or a duty or tariff change lands a bill I can't fund?
Duties, taxes and other government charges are always yours; Rhofin finances the supplier balance and freight, never duties. A customs examination can hold the cargo and delay release. What a detention, seizure or withhold-release order means for your repayment is set out in Important information clause 8.
What collateral does Rhofin take?
The financed cargo is Rhofin's primary security. Rhofin also has rights in the cargo's identifiable proceeds to the extent provided in the transaction documents and applicable law. Rhofin does not ordinarily take a blanket lien over unrelated inventory, receivables, equipment or other business assets. The financing is full recourse, so the customer remains liable for any shortfall following enforcement against the collateral.
See whether your next shipment may fit.
Qualifying US importers can use Rhofin on a single eligible shipment, then decide shipment by shipment.