How to pay Chinese suppliers from Singapore

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

A Singapore business pays a Chinese supplier by bank transfer from an account in the company's own name to the supplier's company account in China or Hong Kong, usually in US dollars and sometimes in Chinese yuan (CNY). The payment is a telegraphic transfer (TT): a bank-to-bank international payment sent over SWIFT, the messaging network banks use for cross-border payments. Each bank has an 8 or 11 character SWIFT code.

Singapore has no exchange controls to work through. The US International Trade Administration notes that the United States and Singapore Free Trade Agreement commits Singapore to free capital transfers, and that there are no significant restrictions on remittances, foreign exchange transactions or capital movements. The work on the Singapore side is commercial and customs work: choosing the currency and the payment term, controlling the cost of each transfer, and clearing the goods with a customs permit that matches the invoice.

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.
2. Check that the company has a Unique Entity Number (UEN) and has activated its customs account with Singapore Customs.
3. Pay the deposit by TT from the company's SGD, USD or CNY balance, quoting the proforma invoice number.
4. Pay the balance against a copy of the bill of lading, or through a letter of credit or a documentary collection.
5. Obtain a Customs Import Permit through TradeNet, directly or through a declaring agent, and pay any duty and GST due.

Many Singapore companies are trading hubs that buy from China and resell across Southeast Asia, so the same payment often sits between a Chinese factory and a buyer in Malaysia or Indonesia. This guide covers the Singapore side of each step. For the supplier's side, such as how Chinese factories invoice and why many use a Hong Kong account, see our general guide on how to pay suppliers in China.

The rules that apply, in Singapore and in China

Three sets of rules touch a payment to a Chinese supplier from Singapore: Singapore's open foreign exchange regime, Singapore Customs' import permit rules, and China's rules on what the supplier may receive.

Sources: US International Trade Administration, Singapore trade financing (last published 22 August 2025); Singapore Customs, Obtain a Customs Import Permit; PNC Bank, Navigating China's regulations on foreign exchange for goods trade. As published on 29 October 2026.

The customs import permit

Singapore Customs states that to import goods into Singapore you must submit a Customs Import Permit through TradeNet, the national system for trade declarations. The company first registers for a UEN, the identification number for Singapore entities issued by ACRA, the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, or another issuing agency. It then activates its customs account. A declaring agent, a company registered with Singapore Customs to file permits, can apply on the importer's behalf; alternatively, the importer can register as a declaring agent itself and obtain a TradeNet user ID. After approval, the importer must follow the permit's conditions for cargo clearance and pay duties and GST where applicable.

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 banks cannot handle foreign exchange for companies that are not on it. 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, the importer and the exporter. Singapore's open regime does not change this: a payment from a company that is not on the contract can be held in China while the supplier's bank asks questions.

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. A Singapore company pays in one of the ways below. Whichever route you use, the beneficiary on the payment should be the company named on the proforma invoice.

Routes as described in this guide; payment instruments from the US International Trade Administration's Singapore trade financing guide; supplier-side checks from PNC Bank. As published on 29 October 2026.

Paying in yuan

Singapore has had a yuan clearing bank since 2013. On 8 February 2013 the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced that the People's Bank of China had authorized the Singapore branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) as the renminbi clearing bank in Singapore, to facilitate greater use of the renminbi for trade and investment. A clearing bank settles payments in a currency for other banks in its market. Ask your bank whether it holds CNY balances and sends yuan, and at what rate. Paying in yuan saves the supplier a conversion, and some suppliers price yuan invoices differently from dollar invoices, so ask for both quotes and compare the total cost, including your own conversion from Singapore dollars or US dollars.

Deposit, balance and payment terms

The payment term decides when money leaves Singapore and what you hold in return. The US International Trade Administration notes that shipments to Singapore are typically executed using letters of credit or sight drafts, and that standard credit terms usually range from 30 to 90 days. Chinese factories selling to a new buyer often ask for a deposit and a balance instead.

Source: US International Trade Administration, Singapore trade financing (last published 22 August 2025), and the terms described in this guide. 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 sight draft is a bill of exchange payable when it is presented, sent with the shipping documents through the banks so you receive them only after you pay. A supplier that has not traded with you before may ask for an LC on the first order and accept deposit and balance on later orders.

For a Singapore trading company reselling the goods, the payment term to the Chinese factory should fit the term given to its own buyer. Paying a 30% deposit to the factory while selling to a regional buyer on 60 day terms means the company funds the gap, which is where trade finance is used.

What it costs: published bank charges

Each Singapore bank publishes its own charges. The table shows one bank's published charges for outward telegraphic transfers for small and medium businesses, as an example of the items to budget for on each order.

Source: DBS Bank, SME frequently asked questions on fees and charges, as published on 29 October 2026. Other banks set their own charges.

Commission in lieu of exchange is the charge a bank makes when you pay from a balance in the same currency, for example US dollars from a USD account to a USD account, because it earns no exchange margin. The commission is capped, so on large payments the cap decides the cost. On a S$40,000 equivalent deposit sent through DBS IDEAL, 1/8% is S$50, less the S$2 discount, plus the S$20 cable charge. On a S$200,000 equivalent balance, 1/8% would be S$250, so the S$120 maximum applies. Three costs sit outside the tariff. The first is the exchange rate if you buy dollars or yuan with Singapore dollars. The second is agent and correspondent bank charges on the way to China. The third is the supplier's own bank charge.

Send TT 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 shipment while the supplier queries the gap.

Documents that tie the payment to customs

Your bank, Singapore Customs and the supplier's bank each match the same set of facts: the supplier's name, the invoice number and the value. Keep them identical across every document.

Source: Singapore Customs, Obtain a Customs Import Permit. Typical sequence; requirements vary by product. As published on 29 October 2026.

A bill of lading is the document the shipping line issues when it receives the goods. Ask the supplier for a copy before you pay the balance, and check that the shipper, consignee and goods match the invoice. If the final invoice value differs from the proforma, use the final invoice for the import permit and the balance payment, so the payment, the permit and the supplier's records agree.

Agents and stablecoins: what goes wrong

Some buyers pay through a sourcing agent who receives Singapore dollars and pays the supplier from an account in China, or through a stablecoin trader. Singapore's open foreign exchange regime makes these routes easy to start, but it does not remove the risks at the supplier's end.

• The supplier's bank may query it. China's rules expect the payer to be the party on the contract. A transfer from an agent's account is a payment from a third party.
• Your records stop matching. The invoice and the import permit name your company as buyer, while the payment record shows the agent.
• There is no trace. A TT from your own account carries a reference and can be traced through the banks. Cash handed to an agent cannot.
• Most stablecoins are outside MAS's stablecoin framework. MAS finalized its framework on 15 August 2023. It covers single-currency stablecoins pegged to the Singapore dollar or a G10 currency and issued in Singapore, and only issuers that meet all its requirements may use the label MAS-regulated stablecoins. MAS states that users of other stablecoins should make their own informed decisions on the accompanying risks.
• The supplier may not be able to accept them. In November 2025 the People's Bank of China reaffirmed that virtual currency business activities are illegal in mainland China and said stablecoins carry risks including illegal cross-border transfers, as reported by The Block.

Where Helm fits

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

For a Singapore company that buys from China and sells abroad, it works like this:

• Collect from buyers in USD. US buyers pay by ACH or Fedwire to the company's own US details, and buyers elsewhere pay by SWIFT. Collections are held in USD or converted.
• Pay suppliers in USD. Send international payments by SWIFT from the same balance to the supplier's USD account in China or Hong Kong, with the rate, fee and expected arrival shown before you send, so the dollars are not converted twice.
• Convert stablecoins. If a buyer pays you in USDC or USDT, you can receive them and convert them to USD inside the account, then pay the supplier by SWIFT.
• Fund the gap. Trade finance, such as supplier finance, receivables finance and working capital, is arranged case by case for companies that pay suppliers before their own buyers pay them.

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 Singapore

• Check that the company has a UEN and an activated customs account before the first shipment.
• Get a proforma invoice and check that the seller on it is the company you will pay.
• Ask for both a dollar price and a yuan price, and compare the total cost including your own conversion.
• Send each payment from your company's own account with charges set to OUR, before your bank's cut-off.
• Pay the balance against a copy of the bill of lading, or use a letter of credit for a new supplier.
• Match the payment term to the factory with the term you give your own buyer.
• Obtain the Customs Import Permit through TradeNet, using the final invoice.
• Keep the TT confirmations with the invoices, permits and shipping documents for each order.

For how trading companies organize supplier payments and collections, see the trading companies page.

Questions

References

1. US International Trade Administration: Singapore trade financing
2. Singapore Customs: Obtain a Customs Import Permit
3. DBS Bank: SME frequently asked questions on fees and charges
4. Monetary Authority of Singapore: The People's Bank of China appoints clearing bank for renminbi in Singapore (8 February 2013)
5. Monetary Authority of Singapore: MAS finalises stablecoin regulatory framework (15 August 2023)
6. PNC Bank: Navigating China's regulations on foreign exchange for goods trade
7. The Block: China's central bank reaffirms crypto ban, flags stablecoin risks (29 November 2025)

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.