Before I pay a Chinese supplier, how do I check the company and the bank account?
Check three things match before any money moves: the company you are signing with, the company in China's official register, and the payee on the invoice. Confirm the bank details through a contact you verified earlier, never only through the message that sent them. If anything does not match, pause and ask for an explanation you can check yourself. These checks lower the risk; none of them guarantees delivery or quality.
- Applies to
- Buyers about to pay a deposit or a full order to a supplier in China, especially a new one.
Step 1: Get the legal details in writing
Ask the supplier for:
- The legal company name in Chinese (the English name on a website is often a trade name).
- The 18-character unified social credit code (统一社会信用代码) from the business licence.
- The company that will sign the contract and the company that will receive payment.
Save what they give you, with the date.
Step 2: Look the company up in the official register
Search the credit code on China's National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, gsxt.gov.cn. Note:
- Does the legal name match what you were given?
- What registration status does the system show? (Read it as shown there; it is a registry entry, not a verdict on the business.)
- Is it on the abnormal-operation list (经营异常名录)?
A clean record shows that a legal company exists. It does not prove the person you are talking to works for it, or that the company makes your product. "No result" can also be a typing or access problem; check again another way before deciding. More: see the related pages on official records and on factory or trading company.
Step 3: Match the payee
| Document | Company name on it |
|---|---|
| Your contract or order | |
| Official register | |
| Invoice (PI) | |
| Bank account holder |
All four should be the same company. If the payee is different (for example an export agent or a related company), stop and verify the relationship and written authority before you agree. A different name is not automatically fraud, but it must be explained and checked.
Step 4: Confirm the bank details by a second channel
Call a phone number you verified before the payment request, and confirm the account name, bank and account number. Do not use phone numbers or links in the email or chat that sent the details. The FBI advises verifying any change of payment details through a separate channel (FBI IC3).
Step 5: Keep the first payment within what you can afford to lose
Agree in writing what you are paying for, when the balance is due and how you will check the goods. See the related page on payment methods.
Stop and check if
- The bank details change just before you pay.
- You are pushed to pay outside the platform or payment route you agreed.
- The company cannot give its legal name or credit code.
- The payee is a personal account or a company you have not checked.
Still uncertain
- We have not confirmed the full gsxt search steps from outside China; the site returned an access error during our check.
- Reporting channels if something goes wrong: see "I paid and they stopped answering".
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