Warehouse receipt finance is another name for warehouse receipt financing: lending in which a farmer, trader or processor borrows against goods held in a warehouse, using the warehouse receipt issued by the operator as security. The main entry describes the parties, the legal requirements and the risks.
The two forms of the name are used interchangeably. "Warehouse receipt finance" is the more common wording in development finance and in the publications of international agencies, where it is promoted as a way for producers of grain, coffee, cotton and other storable crops to obtain credit after harvest without selling at once at low prices. Banks may also group it with inventory or stock finance under commodity financing.
The arrangement depends on a reliable warehouse operator, on law that recognises the receipt as a document of title or valid pledge, and on a register or other means of preventing the same goods being pledged twice. It is a branch of trade finance and should not be confused with a warehouse facility, which is a credit line secured on loans.