Scope: China-connected commercial payments; US and European buyers
The invoice looks familiar. The amount is correct. The email even refers to your latest shipment. There is only one change: your supplier wants payment to a different bank account, today.
A China supplier bank account change deserves its own verification process. A convincing message can come from an impersonator or a compromised genuine account. Equally, a legitimate change can create contractual confusion if the recipient is a different legal entity.
Confirm the instruction through a separate channel
Use contact details already verified through your business relationship. Do not rely on a telephone number supplied in the change request. Ask an authorized person to confirm the beneficiary name, account details, reason for the change and affected invoices.
The FBI recommends independently verifying payment requests and changes to account numbers or payment procedures. If a suspicious transfer has already occurred, contact the sending financial institution immediately and ask it to contact the receiving institution. US victims can also report business email compromise through IC3. FBI guidance.
Ask which obligation the payment will discharge
Compare the seller named in the contract with the proposed beneficiary. If payment goes to an affiliate, agent or other third party, request an explanation and appropriate written authorization. Ask counsel whether the proposed documentation adequately records the seller’s acceptance of that payment arrangement under the governing law.
A bank receipt proves that a transfer occurred. It may not, by itself, answer whether you paid the party entitled to receive the contractual price. Avoid deciding that issue from a logo, company stamp image or salesperson’s assurance alone.
Keep an approval record your team can reproduce
Create a short file containing the original invoice, revised instruction, verification record and internal approval. State who checked the change and when. Keep accounting-system updates separate from the decision to release funds, so an urgent invoice cannot silently change future payments too.
If something seems wrong, preserve the original messages and attachments. Ask your technical team to retain relevant email records. Do not send a second payment simply to make the disagreement disappear before the first transfer and the seller’s position have been assessed.
Turn the incident into a contract improvement
For future orders, agree how payment instructions may change, who can authorize them and what verification is required. The process should work across time zones and staff absences. A clause that nobody in accounts payable can follow is unlikely to help in practice.
Unsure whether a changed payment instruction is legitimate? Contact Jinyuan Law Firm with the contract, invoice and a redacted change request. Request a review of payment authority, documentary gaps and the appropriate next steps. If funds have already moved, contact your bank immediately rather than waiting for a consultation.
Related reading: China Supplier Fraud or a Broken Contract? Why the Distinction Matters.
General information only. Advice depends on the facts and applicable jurisdiction. Contact does not by itself create a lawyer-client relationship. Local-law advice may be needed outside mainland China.
