Before you send money to a Chinese supplier you are given a short block of text: an account name, an account number, a bank name and a SWIFT code. It looks official, and that appearance does a lot of unearned work. Our guide to confirming a supplier’s bank account sets out the checks to run; this piece is about why the details themselves prove far less than importers assume.
- A SWIFT code identifies a bank and branch — it says nothing about who owns the account.
- A valid account number confirms funds will arrive somewhere, not that it is the right somewhere.
- Well-formatted details are evidence of competence at formatting, and nothing more.
- Chinese company names have an official Chinese-character form; English versions are translations and legitimately vary.
- The only field carrying real evidential weight is the account name, checked against documents you hold.
The false comfort of a well-formed field
Each field in a set of bank details answers a narrow technical question. The trouble is that importers read the whole block as answering a much broader one — whether this is really my supplier. It does not, and the gap between the two is where diverted payments live.
| Field | What it proves | What it does not prove |
|---|---|---|
| Account name | Who the bank believes holds the account | That they are your supplier |
| Account number | Which account receives funds | Anything about ownership |
| Bank name and branch | Where the account sits | That the account is active |
| SWIFT / BIC | Which institution to route to | That the account name matches |
The third column is the one that matters. A valid SWIFT code and a well-formatted account number tell you the payment will arrive somewhere. They tell you nothing at all about whether that somewhere belongs to the company you negotiated with.
Why English company names legitimately vary
A Chinese company’s legal name is registered in Chinese characters. The English name on the letterhead is a translation, and translations differ — word order, whether "Co., Ltd" is abbreviated, whether a city name is included. This is a genuine and common source of harmless mismatch, and it matters because it trains importers to wave through differences they should not.
- Ask for the company name in Chinese characters and check it against the business licence.
- Treat differences in punctuation, spacing or "Limited" versus "Ltd" as normal.
- Treat a completely different trading name as something to resolve before paying.
- Where an English name appears nowhere in your contract or licence, ask which entity it is.
The practical discipline is to compare the Chinese name, not the English one. Once you are matching the legally registered form against the account name, most of the ambiguity disappears — and what remains is a real question rather than a translation artefact.
What actually carries evidential weight
If the fields themselves prove little, the weight has to come from somewhere else. In practice it comes from agreement across documents you obtained independently, and from the channel the details arrived through.
- 1The registered company name on the business licence.
- 2The seller named on the proforma invoice.
- 3The beneficiary account name on the bank details.
- 4The entity you have been corresponding with throughout.
Four sources, obtained at different times, agreeing on one legal identity is meaningful evidence. One well-formatted block of text is not. Where the four do not agree, you have found the question that needs answering before any money moves — and it is a question for the supplier, in writing, in advance.
Frequently asked questions
Can I verify a Chinese bank account before paying?
You cannot look up account ownership yourself the way you might check a company registration. What you can do is match the account name against the company documents you already hold, and confirm details through a channel you trusted before the request arrived.
The SWIFT code checks out on a bank lookup tool. Is that reassuring?
Only mildly. It confirms the bank and branch exist and that the code is well formed. Every fraudulent set of details you are likely to see will pass the same check, because the fraud is in the account, not the institution.
What if my supplier insists on a personal account?
Ask why in writing. Small workshops sometimes settle this way, but it removes the name-matching check that protects you, and it makes any later dispute harder to pursue. Treat it as a reason for extra caution, not a routine request.
SilkBridge helps importers in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania pay Chinese suppliers in RMB — documented, reviewed in Nairobi, and tracked to payout.
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