PAYMENT RISK · September 25, 2026
Chinese Supplier Requests an Extra Deposit: What to Check
Treat an extra deposit request as a proposed change to the order’s payment plan. Verify who requested it, reconcile the amount already paid, obtain evidence for the reason and document what the additional payment would achieve before deciding. Urgency alone does not establish that the request is legitimate or commercially justified.
What exactly is the supplier requesting?
Ask for the purchase-order number, amount, currency, requested date and a written explanation. Establish whether the request is an earlier installment of the existing price, payment for an approved scope change, or an increase in the total price. These are different decisions.
Request the relevant revised invoice or proposed order amendment. Compare it with the signed order and previous invoices. A request in a chat message should not silently replace the agreed payment schedule.
Can the amount be reconciled with the order?
Prepare a short reconciliation showing the original order value, agreed changes, payments already made and outstanding balance. Match previous payments to receipts or account confirmations. Identify credits, disputed amounts or deposits allocated to another order.
Illustrative example: a US$20,000 order has a US$6,000 deposit already paid. The supplier requests another US$4,000 without changing the total price. If approved and credited to that order, cumulative payments become US$10,000 and the remaining balance becomes US$10,000. It should not remain US$14,000.
If the supplier instead proposes a US$4,000 price increase, the proposed total becomes US$24,000. That requires a separate price-change decision. Write down which scenario applies before approving the amount.
What evidence supports the reason?
For an asserted material shortage or changed specification, ask for evidence tied to the affected order and the proposed recovery step. For a production milestone, request dated progress records and explain what remains incomplete. Label supplier statements as supplier-reported until independently checked.
Ask what measurable outcome the payment is intended to enable and by when. Identify any dependencies, such as sample approval or material availability. Consider whether a smaller staged payment or a revised delivery plan could address the issue, but do not describe either option as risk-free.
How should payment instructions be verified?
The FBI’s business email compromise guidance recommends checking payment requests and changes to account numbers or procedures through independent verification, including calling a company using a number obtained independently. It also warns about pressure to act quickly.
Use a trusted contact channel rather than contact details introduced only in the new request. Record the beneficiary name, bank details and verification result within the company’s payment approval process. If the requested recipient differs from the contracting supplier, obtain and assess a documented explanation before proceeding.
What should an approved change record contain?
Record the approved amount and currency, beneficiary, purpose, credit against the order, remaining balance and next milestone. Include the relevant evidence, decision maker and approval date. Document any agreed scope or schedule changes and obtain the supplier’s acknowledgment.
Keep unresolved quality or delivery issues visible. A payment confirmation is evidence of a payment, not evidence that production is complete or that the goods meet the specification. Continue the agreed inspection and release process.
When should the request remain pending?
Keep the decision pending when the amount cannot be reconciled, the explanation lacks order-specific evidence, or the recipient cannot be independently verified. Assign an owner and a deadline for the missing information rather than letting an urgent message bypass the process.
If a dispute arises over existing obligations, seek advice appropriate to the contract and jurisdiction before changing performance. MORENICE can support supplier verification and order follow-up within an agreed scope; no checklist can guarantee supplier performance, recovery of funds or a refund.