Finding a good supplier in China is half the battle. The other half is paying them in a way that gets the money there quickly, keeps fees from eating your margin, and leaves you with leverage if problems arise. There are at least five payment methods, and the difference between them is not just a 1–3% fee but a fundamentally different level of protection: from the total helplessness of a transfer to a personal card to guaranteed refunds through Trade Assurance. Here is a breakdown of every option, with numbers.
Payment methods: comparison
| Method | Fee | Crediting time | Risks | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T/T (SWIFT, USD bank transfer) | $20–50 flat + 0.5–1% bank fee | 1–5 business days | Medium: transfer goes to a company, but getting money back is hard | Sole proprietors/LLCs with regular imports from $5,000 |
| Payment in yuan via an agent | 3–8% agent fee (at AgilFreight: 8% up to $1,000, 5% from $1,000 to $5,000, 3% from $5,000) | 1–24 hours | Low: the agent pays after verifying the supplier | Small and mid-size wholesale, working with 1688 |
| Alibaba Trade Assurance | 2.95% for card payment, $40–80 for T/T on Alibaba | Instant — 3 days | Minimal: money is held until shipment is confirmed | First deals with a new supplier |
| Alipay / WeChat Pay | 0–2%, but requires a Chinese account or an intermediary | Instant | High: transfer to an individual, no protection | Samples and small amounts up to $500 |
| Western Union / MoneyGram | 1–4% + exchange rate spread | Minutes — hours | Very high: the recipient is an individual, the trail goes cold | Not recommended for goods transactions |
The golden rule: the payment method must match the deal size and your level of trust in the supplier. For a first deal with a factory you have not yet vetted using our guide how to verify a supplier, Trade Assurance or payment via an agent are the only sensible options.
Why yuan via an agent often works out cheaper
At first glance, a 3–5% agent fee looks more expensive than a SWIFT bank transfer. But let's calculate the full chain for a typical $6,000 deal.
With a direct SWIFT in dollars there is a double conversion: you buy USD with hryvnia at the bank's rate (+0.5–1% over interbank), the supplier receives dollars and converts them into yuan at their Chinese bank's rate (another −1–1.5%). Add a $30–50 transfer fee and correspondent bank charges ($10–30, often deducted from the transferred amount — the supplier receives less and asks you to top up). Total hidden costs: 2.5–3.5%.
When paying via an agent, you pay in hryvnia or USDT, and the supplier receives yuan in a domestic Chinese account at the domestic rate — with no USD→CNY conversion chain. The real exchange rate difference often offsets 1–1.5% of the fee. Plus three non-obvious advantages:
- Speed. The supplier sees the yuan within hours, not 3–5 days — production starts sooner.
- 1688 suppliers do not accept SWIFT at all: the domestic Chinese platform works only in yuan. Without an agent you simply cannot buy there, while 1688 prices are 15–30% lower than on Alibaba.
- The agent is a filter. At AgilFreight, payment is part of the product purchasing service: we verify the bank details, company status, and supplier history before transferring, and the money goes out from a Chinese legal entity — for the seller, that makes it a domestic transaction with all the consequences under Chinese law.
AgilFreight's purchasing fee: 8% for orders up to $1,000, 5% from $1,000 to $5,000, 3% from $5,000. On deals of $5,000 and above, the total cost of paying via an agent is usually lower than the total cost of SWIFT.
Currency control in Ukraine
If you pay directly from your sole proprietorship or LLC, the transfer goes through the bank's currency control. What you need to prepare:
- A foreign trade contract with the supplier (bilingual, with the parties' details, Incoterms delivery terms, and deadlines).
- An invoice specifying the goods, quantity, price, and payment terms.
- An import-related business activity code (KVED) — for sole proprietors, the relevant ones are 46.xx (wholesale trade); the bank may refuse the transfer if your registered activity does not match.
- For prepayments there is a 180-day delivery deadline: if the goods have not entered Ukraine and cleared customs within that time, the bank notifies the tax authority, and you face penalties for violating settlement deadlines.
Sole proprietors on the 2nd and 3rd single-tax groups are entitled to conduct foreign trade, but note: importing for resale requires proper customs clearance with import duty of 0–12% and 20% VAT. You can estimate the payments in advance in the customs clearance calculator.
Safe settlement schemes
Even with a verified supplier, never pay 100% upfront. Working schemes:
- 30/70 — the classic: 30% prepayment to start production, 70% after the batch is ready and inspected (photos/video of the goods or a warehouse check). The supplier is motivated to finish the order, and you risk only a third of the amount.
- Trade Assurance on Alibaba — the payment is held in Alibaba's escrow and released to the supplier only after shipment is confirmed per the terms. If deadlines or specifications are violated, you get a refund through a dispute.
- Letter of credit (L/C) — the bank pays the supplier only against shipping documents. Reliable but expensive ($150–500 in bank fees) and justified for deals from $30,000–50,000.
- Payment via an agent with inspection — the agent withholds the final payment until the goods are checked at a warehouse in China. Combines escrow-level protection with access to 1688.
Red flags: when to stop before paying
- The supplier asks for a transfer to a personal card or an individual's account — there is no justification for this in a B2B deal.
- Bank details changed at the last minute ("our account is under review, pay to our partner's account") — the classic hacked-email scheme: criminals intercept the correspondence and swap the invoice. Always confirm a change of details by voice or video call.
- The recipient's name on the invoice does not match the company name you negotiated with.
- You are being rushed — "this price is only valid until tonight", "only one batch left" — pressure for a quick decision switches off your checks.
- The price is 30–40% below market with no explanation.
- The supplier refuses Trade Assurance despite operating on Alibaba — meaning they do not want the platform's guarantees.
- They demand payment only via Western Union — once sent, the money cannot be recovered.
AgilFreight tip: the cost of a safe payment scheme — an agent fee or escrow — is always less than the average loss from one failed prepayment. Our statistics show that up to 5% of first deals with unverified suppliers turn problematic, and the average "stuck" prepayment is $1,500–3,000. One rescued deal pays for years of fees.
If you would rather not deal with currency control, exchange rates, and verification — the AgilFreight product purchasing service covers the whole chain: we verify the supplier, pay them in yuan from a Chinese legal entity, receive the goods at our warehouse in Guangzhou, Yiwu, or Shenzhen, and ship them to Ukraine. And the supplier sourcing service will help you find the supplier in the first place.