Paying a supplier in China or the UAE

For a foreign-currency transfer the bank asks for the contract or invoice, the payment purpose and the beneficiary’s details. It may ask for deal documents even on a small amount. Money held in tenge is converted at the bank’s own rate at the time of payment, so the final tenge figure differs from the invoice by more than the fee.

Returned or delayed international payments are most often caused by an error in the beneficiary name, account number or SWIFT code. Before payment, these are matched:

• the beneficiary on the invoice and the account holder are the same company;
• beneficiary bank, SWIFT, account number and currency match the contract;
• the invoice shows goods description, quantity, unit price, delivery terms and shipping date;
• a change of account sent by email is confirmed by phoning the supplier on a known number.

Under National Bank rules, import currency contracts above the equivalent of USD 50,000, and contracts with no amount on the signing date, are registered. The authorised bank that holds the importer’s account registers the contract and assigns the registration number.

The number is obtained before the first payment or shipment. The bank receives its application form and the contract; a contract in English or Chinese goes with a Kazakh or Russian translation.

The importer is also responsible for repatriation: if payment went out and the goods did not arrive, the money comes back within the term in the contract. Since 1 January 2024 the state revenue bodies handle this part of the control.

The international version of Alipay accepts a Visa or Mastercard issued outside China, and payment goes by QR code. The Kaspi app includes Alipay+ for QR payments abroad, China included. Card limits are set by the issuing bank.

A personal card payment is not tied to a contract: the bank sees no import in it, and there is no document showing payment to a given seller for given goods. So 1688 batches are usually paid through a buying agent or directly to the factory against an invoice.

Dubai traders invoice in US dollars or dirhams. The scheme is the same: contract, invoice to the company, transfer to that company’s account. Whether the transfer goes through depends on the correspondent banks for that currency, and their terms change.

Dubai wholesalers hold electronics prices only briefly, often a day or two. A payment that clears later goes at the new price.

For a first batch with a new supplier the common scheme is part before production or purchase, the balance after the goods are checked before shipping. Such a contract usually sets out:

• the schedule: how much, when and after which event;
• what proves the inspection: photos, video, serial numbers, number of packages;
• replacement, discount or refund for defects and shortages;
• the same payment purpose with contract and invoice numbers on every transfer.

An agent pays when the factory does not accept transfers from Kazakhstan or goods come from several sellers. The risk then sits with the agent. A transfer to a private person’s card with no contract proves neither the amount nor the purpose in a dispute. An agent contract usually states:

• who pays whom, in which currency, and the agent’s fee;
• which documents the agent hands over: supplier invoices, payment confirmations, packing lists;
• who appears as the seller on the goods documents: the contract, invoice and payment records are among the documents supporting customs value (EAEU Customs Code, art. 108);
• the refund term and procedure if the goods are not shipped.

We buy the goods after prepayment. Before dispatch we send photos, video and serial numbers. The payment schedule for a given batch is agreed in the request.