Paying a Chinese supplier safely
The moment you pay a supplier you have never met is when a China order is most exposed, and a bank transfer is hard to recover once it has gone. This page sets out our own rules on bank details, how to confirm a payment request really comes from us, the payment frauds UK buyers commonly meet with Chinese suppliers, and a free check we offer before you pay.
Our rules on bank details
- We never change our bank details by email or WhatsApp. If a message says our bank details have changed, do not pay: call us first.
- The account you pay is always in the name Piggy Pineapple Ltd, our registered company. We never ask you to pay a personal account.
- Our invoices come only from boruoxu@camchinabridge.co.uk or enquiries@camchinabridge.co.uk. Read the whole address: one changed letter or an extra word in the domain is not us.
- Cambridge China Bridge is a trading name of Piggy Pineapple Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales, number 14385590.
How to check it is really us
- Call +44 7410 367251 before your first payment to us, and whenever anything about a payment request looks different. Use the number on this page, not a number in the message.
- Check the sender: invoices come from boruoxu@camchinabridge.co.uk or enquiries@camchinabridge.co.uk only.
- Check company number 14385590 and the registered office on Companies House.
Payment frauds UK buyers meet with Chinese suppliers
These are the patterns that come up again and again. Each one has an innocent explanation now and then, which is exactly why it works; the answer is to check before paying, not to assume.
Bank details changed in the middle of an order
After the deposit, an email from the supplier's usual address, or one that looks very like it, says the company's account has changed because of an audit, a tax matter or a currency problem, and asks for the balance to go to the new account. Either the supplier's mailbox has been taken over or someone is impersonating it, and the real supplier never receives the money.
What to do: Never act on a change of bank details received by email or chat. Confirm it on a phone or video call with the contact you already know, on a number you already hold, and ask for the change in writing on company letterhead with the company seal.
A personal account instead of the company's
The proforma invoice asks you to pay an individual, often described as the owner or the sales manager, rather than the company. It is sometimes offered as a way to avoid bank charges, but a payment to a person leaves you without a clear claim against the company if the goods are late, wrong or never sent.
What to do: Pay the company that issued the proforma invoice, into an account held in that company's name.
An account name that does not match the company on the PI
The beneficiary is a different company from the one named on the proforma invoice and the business licence: a 'sister company', a trading company or an offshore or Hong Kong company. There can be ordinary reasons, such as an export agent or a foreign-currency account, but it is also how a payment is diverted.
What to do: Ask in writing why the names differ, and have the company you are paying named on the proforma invoice and the contract.
Fake "Alibaba" emails
Messages styled as Alibaba.com payment notices, order confirmations or account warnings ask you to pay by bank transfer outside the platform, or to sign in through a link that captures your password.
What to do: Read payment instructions inside your Alibaba.com account, not from a link in an email. Alibaba's Trade Assurance covers orders paid through Alibaba.com's own payment methods, so a request to pay outside the platform also takes you outside that cover.
Other warning signs
- Pressure to pay today, or a discount that only applies if you pay at once.
- Bank details sent separately from the invoice, or on a document that does not match the earlier ones.
- A bank in a different country or city from the company, with no explanation.
- A free webmail address in place of the company's usual one.
Free check before you pay
Before you pay a Chinese supplier, send us the proforma invoice and the bank details. We check that the beneficiary name matches the supplier's registered company and flag any warning signs we see. It is free, and we reply the same working day.
- The beneficiary name against the company's registration in China.
- Whether the account looks like a company account or a personal one.
- Where the bank is, compared with where the company is registered.
- Whether the company, address and amounts on the PI agree with each other and with what you were quoted.
This checks the payment, not the factory. A matching name lowers the risk; it does not show the supplier can make your goods. For that, see the supplier check or factory verification.
Common questions
Is it safe to pay a Chinese supplier by bank transfer?
It can be, if you pay the company named on the proforma invoice into an account in that company's name, confirm any change of bank details by phone with someone you already know, and stage payments so the balance follows an inspection. A transfer is hard to recover once sent, so the checks come before you pay.
What should I do if a supplier says their bank details have changed?
Do not pay until you have confirmed the change on a phone or video call with your usual contact, using a number you already hold rather than one in the message. Ask why it changed and for the new details on company letterhead. If in doubt, send us the details and we will check them free.
Should I pay a Chinese supplier's personal account?
We advise against it. A payment to an individual gives you no clear claim against the company if the goods are late, wrong or never sent. Pay the company that issued the proforma invoice.
How do I know a payment request from Cambridge China Bridge is genuine?
We never change our bank details by email or WhatsApp, and our invoices come only from boruoxu@camchinabridge.co.uk or enquiries@camchinabridge.co.uk. If in doubt, call +44 7410 367251 and check company number 14385590 on Companies House.
Does the pre-payment check cost anything?
No. Send the proforma invoice and bank details and we reply the same working day, free. It checks the payee, not the factory; for a written check of the supplier itself there is our supplier check.