Latvia Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in latvia, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Trade Financing
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As elsewhere in Europe, various payment methods are available in Latvia, depending on the level of trust and business relationship between buyer and seller: wire transfers as pre-payment or after-payment, letters of credit, or payment by credit card are all commonly used.

Checks are not common as a payment method and are generally not accepted.

For more information about the methods of payment or other trade finance options, please read the Trade Finance Guide.

The Latvian retail banking sector is dominated by Scandinavian-owned commercial banks, such as Swedbank and SEB, plus Luminor and Citadele – two banks backed by American capital.  There are no state-owned commercial banks or other credit institutions.  Latvia does have a state-owned development finance institution “Altum.”  More on Latvian financial and capital markets is available on the Bank of Latvia website.

There are no foreign exchange controls or restrictions on capital repatriation in Latvia.  The supervision and licensing of institutions that provide foreign exchange is carried out by the Bank of Latvia.

For additional information, visit the U.S. Department of State Investment Climate Statements.

List of banks operating in Latvia is available on the Bank of Latvia website.  

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

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