Checking bank details before paying for a car from China

For a dealer buying overseas, several people may appear in the same conversation: the person showing the vehicle, an export sales contact and someone handling the paperwork. Their involvement does not tell you who should receive the payment. Start with the seller named in the agreed contract, then compare the payment instructions against that document.

This article deals with the account details themselves. For the point at which a deposit is due and the wording needed to hold a specific vehicle, read what to settle before paying a deposit on an unseen car. A complete deposit agreement still needs a separate check on where the transfer will go.

The yard and the seller may have different names

A photograph taken at a supplying dealer’s yard does not establish the identity of the contractual seller. On this site, the vehicles are sourced from dealers in Foshan, while the company named as seller in our quotation and sales contract is Zhongshan Baiyou Technology Development Co., Ltd. The company page explains that relationship. The supplying dealer’s signboard is therefore not the name to copy into a transfer without checking the contract.

Place the quotation beside the invoice and the contract. Compare the legal company names rather than just the logo or the salesperson’s signature. If an English rendering differs, ask for a written explanation that connects it to the same legal entity. Registration details are provided with any written quotation. A familiar trading name alone leaves the question open.

Read the beneficiary, not only the account number

The beneficiary is the named recipient of the transfer. Read that field alongside the bank name and account details in the agreed payment instructions. A correct-looking account number says nothing by itself about whether the recipient is the seller you agreed to pay.

Suppose the contract names a company, but the message asks for payment to an individual or another business. Pause the transfer and ask why the recipient differs, what written authority supports the arrangement and how the contract records it. An explanation in a chat does not resolve the mismatch on its own. Your bank can explain what recipient checks it supports; do not assume its payment screen has verified the underlying sale.

A changed account needs a fresh conversation

A 2017 FBI/IC3 advisory on business email compromise describes a foreign-supplier scenario in which a convincing request redirects an invoice payment to a fraudulent account. Its protective advice includes confirming transfers through a separate channel and using a previously known telephone number rather than one provided in the payment email.

For a vehicle purchase, use a contact route established before the change arrived. Read back the proposed beneficiary and ask for confirmation of the revised instructions. Replying to the same email thread simply returns to the channel that delivered the change. Keep the earlier instructions so the person confirming them can see exactly what differs.

There may be an ordinary explanation. It still needs checking. If a revised invoice is issued, keep it with the earlier version and record who confirmed the change through the established contact route. A deadline to secure the car is not evidence that the new account is correct.

Keep the vehicle reference in the payment record

A payment should be traceable to the particular purchase. The written documents should identify the vehicle and explain which payment is being requested. Use the agreed quotation or contract reference in the transfer record where your bank allows it, and retain the bank’s confirmation beside the invoice.

For a batch purchase, ask how the paperwork allocates the payment across the named vehicles. Otherwise a later substitution or withdrawal can leave both sides discussing a total without a clear record of which car it covered. The dealer sourcing request is the place to describe the intended batch; the payment allocation belongs in the written agreement that follows.

Resolve the difference before authorising the transfer

If the beneficiary remains unexplained or the company cannot be reached through an independently established channel, leave the payment pending. Ask for corrected documents. No additional vehicle photograph answers a question about the recipient’s identity.

Our terms explain the contractual seller and payment process; this website takes no payment through its forms. An inquiry can establish which company will appear on the paperwork before any payment discussion begins. Keep bank credentials and authentication codes out of that inquiry.