Payment provider insolvent: how do I claim my funds?
Contact the appointed administrator or liquidator, preserve your balance and transfer records, and follow the firm's claim instructions. Check whether the factory actually received the payment before arranging a replacement. Payment services are outside FSCS protection. For factory-side payment checks, contact Cambridge China Bridge.
Find the appointed insolvency contact
For a failed payment or e-money provider, contact the appointed administrator or liquidator. Start with the provider's insolvency notice and cross-check the contact details against any official announcement. Save the instructions, claim portal address and stated deadlines. Verify unexpected messages independently before sending account documents.
Identify the legal entity on your account agreement, rather than relying on the app's trading name. Ask which process covers your business account, whether you need to register now, and what to do if you cannot access the portal. Keep further order funds outside the failed provider while you establish the position.
Build a balance and transfer evidence pack
Download statements and transaction exports while access remains available. Preserve account ownership details, the last available balance, currencies held, bank statements showing money sent to the provider, transfer instructions, beneficiary details, transaction references and correspondence. Keep original files alongside screenshots.
Prepare a reconciliation showing what you paid in, what reached the supplier, what returned and what remains unresolved. Ask the factory for bank receipt evidence matched to the transfer reference and invoice. A debit from your account or a transfer marked as sent is a reason to investigate, rather than assume receipt. Explain discrepancies without counting the same money twice.
Submit the claim using the case instructions
Use the appointed practitioner's specified form or portal. Ask whether they want a customer-funds claim, a proof of debt, or separate submissions for different balances. State the account holder's legal name, account reference, amount and currency, then attach the supporting records requested. Do not assume a generic creditor form fits this payment-provider case.
Save the submitted form, attachments, acknowledgement and claim reference. Ask for confirmation if nothing arrives. If their proposed balance differs from yours, send a clear reconciliation and ask how to challenge it within the case's stated timetable. Ask how to update your claim after a returned transfer or other recovery.
Understand safeguarding and FSCS limits
Payment services are outside Financial Services Compensation Scheme protection. Safeguarding is mandatory for authorised payment institutions and authorised or small e-money institutions. Ask the practitioner how your particular balance is being treated and what evidence is needed. For choosing a provider before another order, see payment provider safeguarding checks.
Do not treat safeguarding as a promise of full repayment. The FCA's Guavapay liquidation guidance describes returning identified customer money subject to costs. Ask about the available funds, deductions and expected distribution process for your own case. Budget for the order using money you can access, rather than an assumed recovery.
Keep the factory order under control
Tell the supplier which payment is unresolved and ask for written confirmation of funds received, production status and any payment-dependent release. Agree a temporary plan for production or dispatch. Before paying again, reconcile the original transfer and approve who will handle any later receipt or refund.
Use the China-order cash-flow calendar to revise your funding plan and the bank and payment-provider comparison guide when arranging a replacement route. Cambridge China Bridge's staff in China can help obtain factory-side payment and order-status evidence; submit the insolvency claim through the appointed practitioner.
Frequently asked questions
Who do I contact when my payment provider fails?
Contact the appointed administrator or liquidator. Verify their details independently and ask for the instructions covering your business account.
Does FSCS cover my supplier payment?
Payment services are outside FSCS protection. Ask the appointed practitioner how your funds are being treated under the provider's safeguarding arrangements.
What evidence should I send with my claim?
Follow the case instructions. Prepare account ownership records, balances, bank funding evidence, transfer references and supplier receipt evidence, with a reconciliation explaining the amount claimed.
Should I pay the Chinese factory again?
Check whether the original transfer arrived first. Obtain factory bank receipt evidence, agree the order's status and document how any duplicate receipt or later refund will be handled.