Also known as: at sight · on sight · payable at sight · sight draft · bill at sight
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The time at which a draft or negotiable instrument is presented to the drawee for acceptance or payment. An instrument payable at sight is due immediately upon presentment at the will of the holder.
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Serena Soto presented a promissory note labeled payable at sight to Sterling Manufacturing. The company refused payment, claiming the note required prior notice. Because the instrument stated it was payable at the will of the holder, payment became due immediately upon presentment.
A draft payable thirty days after sight was presented to the drawee on March 1. The drawee failed to accept it that day. Under the UCC the instrument was dishonored, allowing the holder to pursue immediate recourse against the drawer.
Buyer’s bank issued a sight draft to Seller upon tender of conforming documents. Seller presented the draft the same afternoon. Payment was due at once because the instrument was payable at sight.
The principal authorized her agent to receive and act upon any sight draft presented with warehouse receipts. The agent accepted the draft on the spot and released the goods. The transaction was complete without further approval.
Maker delivered a check dated two weeks ahead. Because the instrument was not payable at sight, the payee could not demand immediate payment. The UCC rule on demand instruments did not apply.
Sylvia Santos offered a computer printout to prove the contents of an electronic record. The printout accurately reflected the stored information and was readable by sight. The court treated the printout as an original under the evidence rule.
An instrument is payable at sight when it states it is payable on demand or at the will of the holder. Presentment triggers immediate payment without any stated time delay.
…in advance as excluded, on the basis of characteristics other than their commercial effects. Such exclusions come into sight when the activity regulated is not itself commercial or when the States have traditionally addressed it in the exercise of the general police power, conferred under the state constitutions…