PAYMENT RISK · October 7, 2026
Supplier Says a Payment Has Not Arrived: Trace Before Paying Again
When a Chinese supplier says a payment has not arrived, trace the original transfer through your bank or payment provider and reconcile the supplier ledger before authorizing another payment. A debit from your account and acknowledgment of credit to the recipient are different pieces of evidence.
Create one record for the original payment
Collect the invoice and order number, transfer date, amount, currency, beneficiary details, bank-issued confirmation and transaction reference. Check those details against the previously verified payment instruction. Keep full account information within trusted banking and supplier channels.
Ask the supplier to confirm which invoice and bank account it checked, the date range searched and whether an unmatched receipt is pending allocation. A sales contact may not have the same information as the finance team. Request a finance-led reconciliation rather than repeated informal assurances.
Ask the bank for an outcome, not just a sending receipt
Ask your sending bank or provider to trace the transaction and explain the latest status, its timestamp and the next action. If it was sent over Swift, ask for the UETR where available and use it in the bank inquiry. For other payment methods, use the provider's own tracing reference and process.
Swift describes payment confirmations that distinguish credit to the beneficiary from rejection, a hold or transfer to an agent outside Swift. Those outcomes are different; a processing or onward-transfer update should not be presented as proof of final account credit.
Example: the US$8,000 deposit is still unresolved
Illustrative example: the buyer sends an US$8,000 deposit and its account is debited. The supplier says its invoice is unpaid. The buyer opens a bank trace using the original reference, while supplier finance checks the intended account and unmatched receipts. Record the deposit as unresolved until the evidence supports a more specific status.
If the recipient bank confirms credit but the supplier cannot find it, ask supplier finance to investigate allocation with its bank. If the transfer was rejected, establish whether and when funds were actually returned. A rejected status does not itself prove that the buyer has received a refund.
Control any request to pay again
Keep a second-payment request subject to explicit internal approval with the original transfer and trace outcome attached. Check the contract and shipment implications with the responsible team. Do not assume a recall request cancels the first transfer or guarantees recovery.
If new beneficiary details appear during the dispute, verify them independently through an established contact channel before taking action. Where diversion or fraud is suspected, contact your bank promptly through trusted details and preserve the relevant messages. Do not treat urgency as verification.
Close both the bank record and the invoice record
Record the confirmed outcome, supporting reference, supplier acknowledgment and the invoice balance. If a replacement payment is approved, link both transactions and reconcile any later return or duplicate credit without counting it twice.
Keep an owner and next follow-up date until the bank inquiry and supplier ledger agree. Resolution times depend on the payment route and investigation; this checklist provides no guaranteed arrival, recall or refund time.