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A del credere agency is a sales arrangement where an agent guarantees to the principal that the buyers the agent introduces will pay for the goods they purchase. If a buyer defaults, the del credere agent compensates the principal for the loss. The agent earns a higher commission than a standard agent because they accept personal financial liability for buyer creditworthiness. Think of it like a sales agent who also acts as your buyer's personal guarantor on every deal they bring in.
The term comes from Italian commercial law and loosely translates to "of trust" or "of belief."
A standard commercial agent earns a commission for introducing buyers and facilitating sales but bears no financial responsibility if a buyer fails to pay. The principal absorbs the credit risk entirely. A del credere agent takes on that credit risk personally. If the buyer doesn't pay, the agent does.
This extra liability is compensated through a higher commission rate, called the del credere commission, on top of the standard commission. The agent effectively becomes both a salesperson and a credit insurer for the principal's customer base.
Del credere arrangements are most common in industries where the principal lacks the capacity to vet buyer creditworthiness across a large or geographically dispersed customer base. Export markets are a classic use case. A manufacturer in Germany selling goods through an agent in Brazil may not have the tools to assess Brazilian buyer credit quality. A del credere agent based in Brazil, who knows the local buyers personally, accepts that vetting responsibility in exchange for a higher cut.
Commodity trading, textile wholesaling, and specialty manufacturing all use this model when the principal wants to outsource credit risk management to the channel rather than build their own credit department.
A del credere agent is a guarantor of the buyer's debt, not a buyer themselves. The agent guarantees performance by the third party, not their own obligation. This distinction matters for how the guarantee is characterized under contract law and how it interacts with insolvency rules.
In most common law jurisdictions, a del credere guarantee must be in writing to be enforceable under statutes of frauds that govern guarantees. Oral commitments to cover a buyer's default typically will not hold up in court.
| Del Credere Agent | Standard Guarantor | Factor | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Role | Sells and guarantees buyer payment | Guarantees payment only; no sales role | Purchases the receivable outright; not an agent |
| Owns the Receivable | No | No | Yes |
| Compensation | Sales commission plus del credere commission | Guarantee fee | Discount on face value of receivable |
| Credit Risk Bearer | Agent | Guarantor | Factor |
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