Credit Oman launches insurance for advance payments that manufacturers make to suppliers

Credit Oman has introduced an Advance Payment Insurance Policy for Omani manufacturers, the Oman Observer reported on 3 October. The cover responds when a company pays a supplier in advance and the supplier then neither delivers the goods nor returns the money.

According to the Observer, eligible payments include upfront amounts for raw materials, intermediate goods and capital equipment used to make products for the domestic or export market. The policy pays when the supplier becomes insolvent, fails to refund after non-delivery, or is affected by specified political risks in its own country. When a bank finances the advance, a loss-payee endorsement can extend the protection to the lender.

The Observer says the policy covers payments to both domestic and overseas suppliers, which takes Credit Oman's cover back to the pre-shipment stage of production. GCC Business News described the product as aimed at Omani companies that pay suppliers outside the Sultanate, for imports of goods, machinery, equipment, project components and production services.

Haitham bin Abdullah Al Yaqoubi, Acting Chief Executive Officer of Credit Oman, said the cover "could give companies greater confidence" in procurement and contracting decisions. The reports describe which companies and payments the policy is for, but neither gave premium rates, policy limits or detailed underwriting terms. GCC Business News added that Credit Oman had approved credit limits of OMR226.6 million (about $588 million) for local sales and exports at the end of the first half of 2026, down from OMR253.1 million a year earlier.