Bill of Exchange Chile (Letra de Cambio)

Bill of Exchange Chile (Letra de Cambio) is a negotiable credit instrument (título de crédito) governed by Ley N° 18.092 sobre Letras de Cambio y Pagarés — published in the Diario Oficial on 14 January 1982 — specifically Articles 1 through 101, by which a librador (drawer) issues a written order (orden de pago) to a librado (drawee) to pay an unconditional and determined sum of money (suma determinada de dinero) to a beneficiario (payee) or to their order, on a specified maturity date (fecha de vencimiento) or on demand (a la vista). Unlike the pagaré (governed by Articles 102–107 of the same statute), the letra de cambio is a trilateral instrument — it involves three parties: the librador who issues the order, the librado who is ordered to pay and becomes obligated only upon aceptación (acceptance), and the beneficiario who receives the payment.

Article 1 of Ley N° 18.092 establishes the mandatory elements (menciones obligatorias) of a valid letra de cambio: the indication of being a letra de cambio in the text of the document; the unconditional order to pay a determined or determinable sum (la orden no sujeta a condición de pagar una cantidad determinada o determinable de dinero); the name of the person to whom it is addressed — the librado; the place and date of issue (lugar y fecha de libramiento); the maturity date (época del pago); the place of payment (lugar del pago); the name of the beneficiario or indication of being payable to bearer; and the signature of the librador.

The aceptación (acceptance) is the librado's written consent — indicated by the word «Acepto» or equivalent language and the librado's signature on the face of the instrument — by which the librado assumes personal and direct obligation to pay the letra de cambio at maturity. Under Ley N° 18.092 Article 33, the librado who accepts (aceptante) becomes the principal obligor of the letra de cambio, and the holder's claim against the aceptante constitutes a título ejecutivo under Código de Procedimiento Civil (CPC) Article 434 N° 4. Without aceptación, the librado has no obligation on the letra de cambio.

The protesto — a formal notarial act (diligencia notarial) performed by a Notario Público — plays a critical role in preserving the holder's rights against endorsers (endosantes) and the librador. Under Ley N° 18.092 Articles 59–79, if the letra de cambio is not accepted (protesto por falta de aceptación) or not paid at maturity (protesto por falta de pago), the holder must formally protest the instrument through a Notario Público within the statutory deadlines. Failure to protest extinguishes the holder's rights against endorsers and the librador (but not against the aceptante). The protesto must be performed by a Notario Público in the commune (comuna) where payment is due, within two business days following the date the letra becomes due for payment or acceptance.

The Comisión para el Mercado Financiero (CMF) supervises banks and financial institutions (Banco de Chile, BancoEstado, Banco Santander Chile, Banco BCI, Scotiabank Chile, and Banco Itaú Chile) that issue and receive letras de cambio in the course of commercial and trade finance operations. The interest rate ceiling (Tasa Máxima Convencional — TMC) established by Ley N° 18.010 Article 6 applies to interest clauses in letras de cambio as it does to pagarés.

The letra de cambio may be transferred through endoso (endorsement) under Ley N° 18.092 Articles 17–32 — the holder (tenedor) endorses the instrument to a new holder (endosatario), who acquires all rights under the letra. Each endorser becomes jointly and severally liable (solidariamente responsable) with the librador and aceptante under Ley N° 18.092 Article 25. Factoring companies (empresas de factoring) regulated by the CMF commonly acquire letras de cambio through endorsement to provide trade financing.

A Bill of Exchange Chile is needed whenever a creditor wishes to formalize a payment obligation from a debtor in a trilateral instrument with título ejecutivo status, particularly when the payment involves a third-party drawee (librado) who is separate from the original issuer.

Export and import traders — importadores and exportadores registered with the Servicio Nacional de Aduanas (SNA) and filing declarations through the Sistema Informático para el Control de Tránsito Aduanero (SICTA) — use letras de cambio as documentary collection instruments in international trade transactions. The Chilean exporter ships goods and draws a letra de cambio on the foreign buyer (librado), payable at sight or at a determinable future date, through a collecting bank (banco cobrador) — Banco de Chile, BancoEstado, or Banco Santander Chile — operating under the International Chamber of Commerce's Uniform Rules for Collections (URC 522).

Wholesalers (mayoristas) and distributors in Chile's agricultural export sector — fresh produce exporters in the Región de O'Higgins and Región del Maule (grapes, cherries, apples), wine exporters (Concha y Toro, Santa Rita, Undurraga), and forestry companies in the Región del Biobío (CMPC, Arauco) — use letras de cambio for domestic trade credit between suppliers, distributors, and retailers when the parties prefer the formal acceptance mechanism over a pagaré.

The letra de cambio is used in Chile for domestic commercial transactions where the buyer (librado/aceptante) must formally commit to payment by signing their aceptación on the instrument — a level of formality that creates a stronger psychological and legal commitment than an oral promise or a simple invoice. Retailers who purchase goods from suppliers on credit (crédito comercial) may be required to accept letras de cambio for the purchase price payable at 30, 60, or 90 days.

Banks and non-bank financial intermediaries use letras de cambio for trade finance discounting (descuento de efectos de comercio) — the holder of a letra de cambio not yet due may discount it with a bank or CMF-regulated financial company (sociedad financiera) before maturity to obtain immediate liquidity, with the bank acquiring the letra by endorsement and collecting from the aceptante at maturity.

The letra de cambio is also used in real estate transactions in Chile — a vendor who sells property on deferred payment terms may require the buyer to issue letras de cambio for each deferred installment, which the vendor can then discount or use as security for their own obligations.

A valid Bill of Exchange Chile under Ley N° 18.092 Articles 1–101 must contain the following essential elements to constitute a legally enforceable título de crédito and título ejecutivo:

Bill of Exchange Designation (Indicación de Ser Letra de Cambio): The words «Letra de Cambio» must appear inscribed in the text of the document under Article 1 N° 1. The absence of this designation prevents the document from qualifying as a letra de cambio under Ley N° 18.092, though it may still function as a private evidence of debt.

Unconditional Payment Order (Orden No Sujeta a Condición): An unconditional order to pay a determined or determinable sum of money (Article 1 N° 2). The order must be directed at the librado and must be free of any condition — any conditional language invalidates the instrument as a letra de cambio. The amount must be expressed in CLP or UF.

Librado Identification (Nombre del Librado): The full name and, in commercial practice, the RUT of the librado (drawee) — the person ordered to pay (Article 1 N° 3). The librado is not obligated until they provide their aceptación (acceptance) by signing the face of the instrument.

Place and Date of Issuance (Lugar y Fecha de Libramiento): The specific place (city or commune) and date (in DD/MM/YYYY format) of issue by the librador (Article 1 N° 4). Essential for calculating maturity dates expressed as a period from the date of issue.

Maturity Date (Época del Pago): The date, period, or event triggering payment (Article 1 N° 5). Ley N° 18.092 Article 48 permits four maturity formats: a la vista (on demand); a un plazo contadero desde la vista; a un plazo contadero desde la fecha de libramiento; and a día fijo y determinado.

Place of Payment (Lugar del Pago): The city, commune, or address where payment is to be made (Article 1 N° 6). This determines which Notario Público has jurisdiction to perform the protesto if the letra is dishonored.

Beneficiary (Nombre del Beneficiario): The name of the beneficiario to whose order payment is to be made, or the indication that it is payable to bearer (Article 1 N° 7).

Librador's Signature (Firma del Librador): The authentic handwritten signature of the librador (drawer) — the person who issues the payment order (Article 1 N° 8). For corporate libradores, the authorized representative signs on behalf of the entity.

Acceptance Clause (Cláusula de Aceptación): After issuance, the letra de cambio must be presented to the librado for aceptación (acceptance). The librado's written acceptance — typically «Acepto» signed on the face of the instrument — constitutes the aceptante's personal obligation to pay at maturity under Ley N° 18.092 Article 33. The aceptante who pays becomes the holder and may seek recourse against the librador and endorsers.

Protesto Rules (Reglas del Protesto): The holder must protest the letra through a Notario Público within two business days of the maturity date (for non-payment) or the date of presentation for acceptance (for non-acceptance) under Ley N° 18.092 Articles 59–79. The Notario Público serves formal notice on the librado or aceptante and certifies non-payment or non-acceptance in the protesto instrument. Failure to protest extinguishes recourse against endorsers and the librador.

Interest and Fees: Optional but common clauses specifying conventional interest (tasa de interés convencional) at or below the TMC published by the CMF under Ley N° 18.010, and the allocation of Notario fees for protest and collection.

Forms-legal.com provides this Bill of Exchange Chile template as a reference. For international trade transactions, both parties should verify compliance with the URC 522 collection rules and consult an abogado specializing in derecho cambiario. Los usuarios de forms-legal.com pueden descargar este documento de forma gratuita en formato PDF o DOCX, completar los campos del formulario guiado y obtener un documento listo para firma.