How to pay Chinese suppliers from Argentina

How to pay a Chinese supplier from Argentina: the short answer

An Argentine company pays a Chinese supplier through its bank, which sells it dollars in the official exchange market and sends them by SWIFT to the supplier's account in China or Hong Kong. The official exchange market, the Mercado Libre de Cambios (MLC), is the regulated market where banks and exchange houses buy and sell foreign currency for clients, under the rules of the Banco Central de la República Argentina (BCRA). SWIFT is the international messaging network banks use for cross-border payments.

The BCRA decides when a company may buy dollars to pay for goods. Since 14 April 2025, a company can access the MLC to pay for imported goods from the date the goods are registered as entering Argentina. Small and medium-sized firms can pay earlier, from shipment, with proof of shipment. Advance payments before shipment are allowed for capital goods within set limits. Companies still cannot buy dollars in the MLC simply to hold them.

The usual sequence for an order from China is:

1. Agree the price, the payment terms and the Incoterm with the supplier, and get a proforma invoice. An Incoterm is a standard trade term, such as FOB or CIF, that sets who pays freight and insurance. FOB (free on board) value is the price of goods loaded for shipment, before freight and insurance.
2. Check with your bank's foreign trade desk which MLC access rule applies to the goods and to your company size.
3. Pay the supplier when the rule allows: from customs entry registration, from shipment for small and medium-sized firms, or in advance within the limits for capital goods.
4. Clear the goods through a customs broker (despachante de aduana) and give the bank the customs entry record it needs to match the payment.

This guide covers the Argentine side of each step. For the supplier's side, such as how Chinese factories invoice and how to pay a Hong Kong account, see our general guide on how to pay suppliers in China.

BCRA rules on paying for imports in 2026

The import payment rules sit in the BCRA's consolidated text on foreign trade and exchange, Exterior y Cambios, which banks apply to every transaction. The system of import payment authorizations known as SIRA was dismantled by BCRA Communication A 7917 in December 2023, as reported by El Cronista. Communication A 8226 of 11 April 2025 then reset the timing rules for goods.

Sources: BCRA Communication A 8226 (11 April 2025), as published by Banco Hipotecario; BCRA Communication A 8417 (9 April 2026); El Cronista, 7 April 2026; Infobae, 19 May 2026. as published on 29 October 2026. Confirm current rules with your bank.

On 18 May 2026 BCRA president Santiago Bausili said that removing exchange restrictions for companies is not among the bank's priorities, as reported by Infobae. Plan payments on the basis that the timing rules above will continue.

For most consumer and intermediate goods, the practical effect is that a large company pays when the goods have entered Argentina, not before. A supplier that asks for a 30% deposit before production is asking for a payment that, under these rules, a large company can make through the MLC for capital goods within the 30% cap; ask your bank about any other route before agreeing to it. Small and medium-sized firms can pay at shipment, which matches a balance paid against the bill of lading. Agree terms with the supplier that fit the rule that applies to you, not the terms it uses with buyers elsewhere.

How the money reaches a Chinese supplier

Most Chinese suppliers invoice in US dollars, and many invoice through a Hong Kong trading company with a Hong Kong bank account. An Argentine importer pays in one of the ways below. Whichever route you use, the beneficiary should be the seller named on the commercial invoice in your customs entry.

Routes as described in this guide; supplier-side checks from PNC Bank's summary of China's goods trade foreign exchange rules. as published on 29 October 2026.

Paying with dollars you already hold

Argentine banks offer US dollar accounts to companies. A company that holds dollars it is allowed to keep can ask its bank to pay the supplier from that balance. The consolidated text also allows foreign currency held in local accounts to be exempt from settlement when the funds are used at the same time for a payment that would itself qualify for MLC access, within the limits it sets. Ask your bank's foreign trade desk before relying on it.

What the supplier's bank checks

China manages foreign exchange through the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE). As summarized by PNC Bank, a Chinese company must be on SAFE's list of companies with goods trade foreign exchange business, and the supplier's bank verifies each receipt using documents such as the contract, invoice and customs declaration. The same summary states that the remitter and the beneficiary must be the parties to the contract.

Payment terms that fit the BCRA timing

The payment term decides when you can access the MLC and what you hold in return.

Sources: BCRA Communication A 8226; El Cronista, 7 April 2026. as published on 29 October 2026.

A letter of credit (LC) is a bank's written promise to pay the seller when it presents documents that comply with the credit's terms. A documentary collection sends the shipping documents through the banks, and you receive them only after you pay or accept a bill of exchange. For a large Argentine company importing consumer goods, an LC or a collection can bridge the gap between a supplier that wants security before it ships and a rule that lets the importer pay only after customs entry. Ask the bank how it treats the LC under the timing rules before you open it.

What it costs: published bank charges

Each Argentine bank publishes its own foreign trade commissions. The table shows one bank's published charges for the steps in this guide, as an example of the items to budget for on each order.

Source: Banco Provincia, Cuadro Tarifario de Comisiones y cargos de Comercio Exterior, in force from 1 June 2026, as published on 29 October 2026. Other banks set their own charges.

On a $28,000 payment after customs clearance, 0.25% is USD 70, above the USD 60 minimum, plus USD 20 for SWIFT and USD 6 for document handling. Two costs sit outside the tariff. The first is the exchange rate at which the bank sells you dollars in the MLC, which is usually the largest cost. The second is correspondent bank charges on the way to China.

Send SWIFT payments with the charge code OUR, which means you pay all transfer fees and the supplier receives the full invoice amount. SHA shares the fees, so intermediary deductions come out of the amount. BEN puts all fees on the supplier. A payment that arrives short delays the next shipment while the supplier queries the gap.

Documents that tie the payment to customs

Banks identify a company through its CUIT, the tax identification code issued by the national tax agency, ARCA. The bank matches each import payment to the customs record, so the supplier's name, invoice and value must agree.

Sources: BCRA Communications A 8226 and A 8417; El Cronista, 7 April 2026. Typical sequence; requirements vary by bank and product. as published on 29 October 2026.

A bill of lading is the document the shipping line issues when it receives the goods. If you pay before customs entry, diary the 90-day deadline, or 270 days for capital goods, by which the entry must be completed, and give the bank the customs record as soon as the goods clear.

Agents, parallel dollars and stablecoins: what goes wrong

Some importers pay through a sourcing agent who takes pesos in Argentina and pays the supplier abroad, through dollars bought outside the banks, or through a stablecoin seller. The facts below are what an importer should weigh.

• The payment does not appear in your bank's records. A transfer made by someone else cannot be matched by your bank to your customs entry.
• Sworn statements apply to your own dollars too. From 10 April 2026, a resident that sends its own dollars abroad signs a sworn statement not to buy securities settled in foreign currency for the following 90 calendar days.
• Crypto providers must be registered. Law 27,739 created a registry of virtual asset service providers (PSAV), and the Comisión Nacional de Valores (CNV) set their rules in General Resolution 1058. The CNV states that providers that do not meet the requirements cannot operate in Argentina. A stablecoin balance is held with a provider and is not a bank deposit.
• The supplier's bank may query a third-party payment. China's rules expect the payer to be the party on the contract.
• There is no trace. Pesos handed to an agent leave no bank record if the goods do not arrive.

Where Helm fits

Helm is a financial technology company, not a bank. Accounts are held with regulated partner institutions. Helm serves companies registered in Argentina. A Helm account gives your company USD account details in its own name, with a US routing and account number that receives ACH, Fedwire and SWIFT payments.

For an Argentine business that buys from China, it works like this:

• Pay suppliers in USD. Send international payments by SWIFT from your company's own account to the supplier's USD account in China or Hong Kong, with the rate, fee and expected arrival shown before you send.
• Stablecoins. The account can receive, send and convert USDC and USDT to USD inside the account.
• Finance the order. Trade finance, such as supplier finance and working capital, is arranged case by case.

Two Argentine rules shape how the account is used. Export proceeds must still be brought into Argentina and settled for pesos within the BCRA deadlines, so dollars from exports cannot simply be kept abroad to pay suppliers. And the BCRA timing rules apply to payments through the MLC. Confirm with your Argentine bank and adviser how a payment from an account abroad is treated before you use one for an import. Each account has a named account manager, and review questions are answered in writing within one business day. Helm agrees pricing with each business in writing before the account opens, and shows the rate, the fee and the expected arrival before you confirm each payment.

A checklist for paying a Chinese supplier from Argentina

• Check with your bank which MLC access rule applies to your goods and company size.
• Agree payment terms that fit that rule: after customs entry, at shipment for small and medium-sized firms, or a capped advance for capital goods.
• Consider a letter of credit when a supplier wants security before shipping.
• Check the seller on the invoice, the customs entry and the payment are the same company.
• Send each payment by SWIFT with charges set to OUR, quoting the invoice number.
• If you pay before customs entry, complete the entry within the deadline and give the bank the record.
• Use only CNV-registered providers for any stablecoin activity.
• Keep the SWIFT confirmations with the invoice and customs entry for each order.

For how other importers organize supplier payments, see the importers page.

Questions

References

1. Banco Hipotecario: BCRA Communication A 8226, new exchange conditions from 14 April 2025
2. Banco Central de la República Argentina: Communication A 8417 (9 April 2026)
3. El Cronista: De las SIRA al pago a la vista, guía para cubrir importaciones (7 April 2026)
4. Infobae: BCRA confirms it will keep exchange restrictions for companies (19 May 2026)
5. Banco Provincia: Cuadro Tarifario de Comisiones y cargos de Comercio Exterior
6. Government of Argentina: Regulation of virtual asset service providers (CNV General Resolution 1058)
7. PNC Bank: Navigating China's regulations on foreign exchange for goods trade

This guide is general information for businesses, not financial, legal or tax advice. Rules, fees and timings were checked against the sources listed on the review date and may change.