Guides for importers

How payment, inspection and shipping documents actually work when you are buying from a factory on the other side of the world.

3 September 20264 min read
How to pay a supplier in Malaysia: ringgit rules, E&E orders, and the subcontracting layer
Why Malaysian invoices come in dollars, what changes when the goods are electronics, and how to keep the biggest payment tied to the goods themselves.
Malaysia sits at the higher-value end of Asian sourcing: electrical and electronics out of Penang, medical devices, precision plastics, furniture out of Johor. The ringgit does not trade offshore, so cross-border invoices are usually in US dollars, and payments run on the same wire-and-deposit norms as the rest of the region. Two things deserve more attention here than buyers usually give them. Higher unit values mean a single container can carry six figures of exposure on terms designed for commodity goods. And Malaysian manufacturing makes heavy use of subcontracting, so the company you pay may assemble what several others produced. This guide covers the Malaysia specifics and how a milestone-gated payout keeps the largest payment tied to evidence about the goods.
3 September 20264 min read
How to pay a supplier in Thailand: terms, transfers, and the trading company question
Baht or dollars, deposit norms, and why the first question is not how to pay a Thai factory but whether you are paying the factory at all.
Thailand is one of the most mature manufacturing bases in Asia, and paying a Thai supplier feels reassuringly ordinary: quotes in dollars or baht, a 30% deposit, the balance against shipping documents. The maturity hides two things a first-time buyer should check before wiring anything. A large share of Thai export business is intermediated by trading companies, so the account you are paying may belong to a middleman rather than the factory that makes your goods. And the familiar 30/70 schedule carries the same structural exposure it does everywhere: the largest payment is triggered by a document that proves a container shipped, not that the right goods are inside it. This guide covers the Thailand specifics and how a milestone-gated payout restructures the risk.
3 September 20264 min read
Pay a Chinese supplier in USD or RMB? What each choice actually costs
Most buyers wire dollars out of habit. Paying in yuan can be cheaper and suppliers often prefer it — here is how the costs and the leverage really split.
Nearly every quote out of China comes in US dollars, and nearly every buyer pays in them, so the currency question rarely gets asked. It should be. The supplier does not want dollars — they pay wages and materials in yuan, and your dollar wire gets converted on their side, at their bank's rate, under their currency controls, with the exchange risk priced into your quote. Paying in RMB moves the conversion to your side of the table where you can see and shop the rate, and suppliers regularly reward it with a discount. It also demands more of your bank and more precision in the beneficiary details. This guide lays out how each choice distributes cost, risk, and leverage, and where the corridor structure fits.
3 September 20264 min read
Your supplier wants payment to a personal account. Now what?
Why a Chinese supplier asks you to wire a person instead of the company, which reasons are survivable, and the checks to run before any money moves.
A supplier you have been negotiating with in good faith sends bank details, and the beneficiary is a person — or a company whose name does not match the one on the quote. Sometimes there is a mundane explanation: a small factory routing through its owner, a Hong Kong receiving entity, a trading arm with a different registered name. Sometimes the email account has been taken over and the details belong to a thief. The two situations look identical in an inbox, and the difference is the whole order value. This guide covers why the request happens in Chinese trade specifically, the checks that separate the survivable reasons from the fatal one, and how paying the verified company through evidence-gated milestones removes the guesswork.
24 August 20265 min read
How to pay a supplier in Indonesia
How payment to an Indonesian factory works, from USD wires and the rupiah's non-convertibility to the deposit norm, and how to lower the risk.
Paying suppliers in Indonesia usually means a USD wire to an Indonesian bank, because the rupiah is not freely convertible offshore and few exporters want to be paid in it. The supplier base is fragmented, with agents and trading companies sitting between you and the factory, and the deposit norm means real money leaves before anything is proven. The core risk is the same on any prepayment made before evidence: a document about logistics triggers the money instead of a document about the goods. Milestone-gated payouts against a signed PO, a pre-shipment inspection, and a bill of lading move that protection without asking the factory to carry more working capital.
20 August 20263 min read
What a pre-shipment inspection actually checks, and what it does not
What an inspector looks at, what AQL numbers mean in practice, and the three things buyers assume are covered that are not.
A pre-shipment inspection is a sampling exercise carried out when 80% or more of an order is packed. The inspector pulls a sample sized by the AQL standard (for a 10,000-piece order at AQL 2.5, that is typically 200 units) and checks workmanship, measurements against the specification, function on a subset, and packaging and labelling. It does not verify the quantity of the whole shipment, does not test durability or long-term reliability, and does not confirm that what is loaded into the container is what was inspected. A passed inspection is evidence the sample conformed on the day, which is why it is worth tying a payment tranche to, and why it is not a guarantee of the shipment.
14 August 20266 min read
Milestone payments for manufacturing: how to structure a purchase order
Why 30/70 is the default, where it leaves you exposed, and how to break a manufacturing order into tranches tied to events you can actually verify.
Milestone payments split a manufacturing order into tranches, each released against a document that proves a specific event happened: a signed PO, a passed pre-shipment inspection, a bill of lading. The standard 30/70 splits the money by timing rather than by evidence, which is why the last and largest payment turns on a shipping document rather than on the state of the goods. This guide covers how to size tranches so the factory's cash position holds while the buyer keeps unearned value, two worked structures for a US$120,000 order, and how to propose the arrangement without it reading as distrust.
12 August 20264 min read
Deposit terms: what 30/70 really costs you, and what to ask for instead
Where the standard 30% deposit came from, what it protects for each side, and four structures that are easier to negotiate than a lower deposit.
The 30% deposit and 70% balance against a bill of lading is a cash-flow compromise, not a protection mechanism. The deposit funds the factory's materials purchase; the balance is paid against a document that proves a shipment exists rather than that it conforms. A buyer asking simply for a lower deposit is asking the factory to carry more working capital, which is why it is usually refused. Structures that move the protection without moving the factory's cash position, such as a third tranche against inspection, the order funded up front and paid out in tranches, or a retention released on delivery, are materially easier to agree.
10 August 20265 min read
How to vet a new overseas supplier before you commit
A concrete due-diligence process for a factory you have never worked with: confirm the entity, tell a trader from a maker, verify the address and bank.
Vetting a new overseas supplier is a sequence of checks, not a gut call. Confirm the legal entity and business licence, work out whether you are talking to a trading company or the factory itself, verify the address against an audit report, and match the bank account to the registered name. Reference-check with other buyers, get a live video walkthrough, order samples, and arrange a third-party or social audit before a large order. Start small. None of this removes risk entirely, which is why the payment structure has to carry the part that vetting cannot.
6 August 20266 min read
What to do if a supplier won't ship after payment
The playbook when a supplier takes your money and stalls, why recovery after a wire is hard, and the payment structure that prevents it.
When a supplier has your money and no goods are moving, the first job is to establish whether this is a delay or a default, then document everything and keep every exchange in writing. Escalation runs through the sourcing agent, the marketplace, and the bank recall window, but a telegraphic transfer that has settled is almost impossible to claw back, and litigation abroad rarely pays for itself on a single order. The reason the loss is total is that the whole sum was paid before any proof of shipment. Structuring payment so each part releases only against agreed evidence removes that exposure.
4 August 20265 min read
How to pay a Chinese supplier safely: T/T, L/C and tranche payouts compared
The four ways to pay an overseas factory, what each actually protects, and which one fits an order of your size.
Most first orders from a Chinese factory are paid by telegraphic transfer with 30% up front and 70% against a copy of the bill of lading. This is fast and cheap but offers the buyer almost no recourse, because a wire is irreversible the moment it settles. A letter of credit gives real protection but costs roughly 0.75-1.5% plus bank fees and takes weeks to arrange, which makes it impractical below about $100,000. Funding once and paying out in tranches sits between the two: the order is funded once with a licensed third party and paid out in tranches against evidence such as an inspection report or bill of lading, giving the buyer recourse without the paperwork burden of an L/C.
3 August 20265 min read
How to pay a supplier in Bangladesh without an unconditional prepayment
Why Bangladesh runs on letters of credit, what that means for a smaller buyer, and how to pay a garment factory in USD against evidence rather than trust.
Bangladesh's ready-made garment sector is built on letters of credit, largely because factories themselves import fabric and trims on back-to-back LCs and settle in USD. That machinery works for established buyers with a bank line, but it is slow and expensive for a newer or smaller importer, who often ends up wiring an unconditional deposit instead. The risk on any prepayment is the same everywhere: money moves before the goods are verified. This guide covers the Bangladesh specifics, the role of AQL inspection and social audits in apparel, and how a milestone-gated payout structure lets you commit the whole order up front while each tranche releases only against agreed evidence.
29 July 20263 min read
Bill of lading: original, telex release, and seawaybill, and why it decides your payment
The three ways a bill of lading is issued, which one leaves you holding something, and the release instruction that quietly removes your leverage.
A bill of lading is three documents at once: a receipt for goods, evidence of the carriage contract, and, when issued as an original set, a document of title, meaning whoever holds it controls the cargo. A telex release cancels that: the carrier is instructed to release the goods at destination without an original, usually because the shipper has been paid. A seawaybill is not a title document at all. For a buyer paying against shipping documents, the distinction is the whole point of the payment: holding an original set means the goods cannot be collected without you, and a telex release means they can.
27 July 20265 min read
How to pay an Indian supplier: wires, remittance documents, and getting proof before the money
What a payment to an Indian factory actually involves, why the seller needs your inward-remittance paperwork, and how to trigger each payout against evidence.
Paying a supplier in India usually means a USD wire to an Indian bank against a deposit, then a balance before you have seen the goods. The exporter needs a clean inward remittance to close the transaction on their side, which is why short-paying creates a compliance problem for them rather than leverage for you. The base is fragmented, with trading houses reselling other people's production, so the maker you think you are paying may not be the one shipping. The core exposure is the same one every importer carries: an unconditional wire sent before any proof of conforming goods. Milestone-gated payouts move each release behind a document about the goods.
23 July 20266 min read
How to avoid supplier fraud when buying from overseas factories
The five fraud patterns that catch importers, the out-of-band checks that catch each one, and why paying against evidence removes a fraudster's biggest lever.
Most overseas supplier fraud follows a small number of patterns: a trading company posing as the maker, a bait-and-switch on quality, a scrap shipment against the balance payment, a redirected payment from a compromised email, and the deposit that simply vanishes. Each has a concrete check that catches it, and most of those checks are cheap. The single change that removes the most exposure is structural: stop paying a lump sum before you have proof, and tie each release to a document about the goods. This guide covers the patterns, the checks, and how a milestone-gated payout works.
20 July 20265 min read
How to pay a Vietnamese supplier without losing the first order
Why payment to Vietnam settles in dollars, where the real risk sits, and how to restructure the wire so a first order is not a leap of faith.
Paying a factory in Vietnam almost always means a US dollar wire to a Vietnamese bank, because the dong is not freely convertible. The deposit norm and the balance against a bill of lading carry the same exposure they do anywhere: an unconditional wire sent before there is proof the goods conform. The China plus one shift has brought many first-time buyers into Vietnam with payment habits built for a relationship they do not yet have. This guide covers the Vietnam specifics, the inspection that changes the picture, and how a milestone-gated payout works for the Hong Kong to Vietnam corridor.
16 July 20265 min read
Is it safe to pay a deposit before shipment?
A deposit before shipment is normal and funds the factory's materials, but it is irrecoverable once it settles, and your real exposure is the balance.
Paying a supplier deposit before anything ships is standard practice, not a warning sign. The deposit funds the factory's materials purchase and is gone the moment the wire settles. The larger risk sits in the balance, which is usually triggered by a shipping document that proves a container left rather than that the goods conform. A buyer can pay a deposit and still cut the exposure: a third-party inspection before the balance, releasing the balance in stages, a small retention held past arrival, and watching for the red flags that separate a working factory from a bad one.
13 July 20265 min read
Importing from China payment methods: how to pay a factory
The real ways to pay a Chinese supplier, with honest trade-offs for each, plus which one fits a first order versus a repeat one.
Telegraphic transfer is the default for paying a Chinese factory: fast, irreversible, and unconditional. This guide surveys the methods an importer actually meets, including 30/70 deposit terms, Alibaba Trade Assurance, letters of credit, cards and PayPal, and milestone release, with the China-specific realities that decide which fits, from paying a Hong Kong entity to the mainland payout and the deposit norm.
9 July 20265 min read
Trade escrow for international B2B: how milestone-gated releases protect a cross-border order
What escrow for international trade does, how a milestone-gated version releases money against evidence instead of on trust, and when to use it.
Escrow for international trade is meant to sit a neutral party between a buyer paying up front and a factory that is hard to sue if the goods never arrive. Classic escrow holds the whole sum and releases it once, which fixes the deposit problem but not the question of whether what shipped is what was ordered. A milestone-gated version keeps the buyer's full commitment in view and releases it in tranches, each one tied to a document the order already produces. This guide covers what trade escrow is, how the milestone model improves on all-or-nothing escrow, when it is the right tool against a wire or a letter of credit, and what to check before you trust any provider with the arrangement.
6 July 20265 min read
Telegraphic transfer vs escrow: which one a new supplier relationship needs
What a T/T actually is, why factories default to it, the one property that makes it dangerous on a first order, and when a milestone arrangement earns its fee.
A telegraphic transfer is a bank wire, and it is the default way to pay a factory because it is fast, cheap, and accepted everywhere. Its one fatal property for a new relationship is that it is unconditional and irreversible once settled: there is no recall of substance, so the money is gone whether or not the goods conform. Escrow and milestone arrangements hold each release against evidence, which costs a fee and is worth it on new relationships and larger orders but wasted on a trusted repeat supplier paid small sums. Tranchio keeps the T/T rails and adds an evidence gate, releasing each tranche only against agreed documents and the buyer's approval.
2 July 20265 min read
The Alibaba Trade Assurance alternative for suppliers you found off-platform
Trade Assurance only covers orders placed and paid through Alibaba, which leaves factories you met at a trade show or through a referral unprotected.
Alibaba Trade Assurance is a real safeguard, but a narrow one: it applies only to orders placed on Alibaba, paid through Alibaba, on Alibaba's template, with Alibaba as arbiter. A factory you found at a trade show, through a sourcing agent, or by direct referral sits entirely outside it, even if it has an Alibaba storefront. What made Trade Assurance work was never the marketplace. It was that money moved against evidence, on a milestone structure, with a neutral record of what happened. Tranchio rebuilds that mechanism for off-platform orders: the buyer commits the whole order up front, each tranche releases only against agreed proof plus the buyer's approval, and the record is kept independently of either side.
25 June 20265 min read
Letter of credit vs escrow: which protects an importer, and when
A letter of credit checks documents and suits large orders; an escrow-style release turns on evidence the parties choose, for smaller or first-time deals.
A letter of credit is a bank instrument that pays the seller against conforming documents, which makes it strong on large, repeatable orders and slow and expensive on everything else. It checks paper, not goods. An escrow-style or milestone arrangement releases payment against evidence the two parties agree on, which fits smaller, first-time, or off-platform orders where an LC would be overkill. Both can fail, and the failures are different: an LC can pay against clean documents that describe a bad shipment, while a loose escrow can stall on a dispute with no neutral test to settle it. Tranchio sits in the middle for importers under LC scale, gating each release against agreed evidence and recording it, with a licensed provider moving the funds at launch.
18 June 20265 min read
The alternative to a letter of credit for small and mid-size orders
What a letter of credit actually is, what it costs, and why it protects documents rather than goods.
A letter of credit is a bank's promise to pay a seller once matching documents are presented, and it was built for large trades between parties who cannot check each other. On small and mid-size orders it is slow, expensive, and misdirected: it verifies paperwork, not the goods in the container. This guide explains what an LC is, what the fees and collateral really run to, and where its protection stops. It then describes a milestone-gated alternative: fund the whole order once, release each tranche only against evidence you chose, such as a signed purchase order, an inspection report, and a bill of lading. Tranchio is the layer that gates and records each release; the licensed payment provider moves the funds, and that goes live at launch.
11 June 20265 min read
Supplier payment protection: what it actually means for an importer
Payment protection means you keep the money when the goods are wrong, late, or absent.
For an importer, payment protection is simple to state: if the goods are wrong, late, or never ship, you have not already lost the money. A bank wire gives you none of that, because it settles the instant you send it. A marketplace gives it to you only while you stay on the marketplace. Real protection needs four things: the money committed but not yet released, release against evidence you chose, a neutral test when there is a dispute, and a record. Milestone-gated payouts against a signed PO, an inspection report, and a bill of lading deliver those four without changing what the supplier is paid.