How to pay Chinese suppliers from Türkiye

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

A Turkish business pays a Chinese supplier through its Turkish bank, in most cases in US dollars, by SWIFT. SWIFT is the international messaging network banks use to send cross-border payments. The dollars come either from the company's own foreign currency account or are bought from the bank with Turkish lira (TRY) on the day of payment.

For most goods, Türkiye does not require an import license: an importer needs only a tax number. What it does have is a set of rules that reward getting the sequence right: the payment term decides whether a 6% levy applies, the customs declaration fixes the value on which VAT and duty are charged, and your bank, Turkish customs and the supplier's bank in China all compare the same invoice.

The usual sequence for an order from China is:

1. Check the product's tariff code, duty, any additional customs duty and any product safety or certificate requirement before you agree a price.
2. Agree the payment term with the supplier: advance payment, cash against goods, documentary collection or letter of credit.
3. Pay the deposit by SWIFT in US dollars to the company named on the proforma invoice, quoting the invoice number.
4. Pay the balance before the customs declaration is registered, if you want to avoid the KKDF levy on a credit term.
5. Clear the goods through a customs broker with the commercial invoice, bill of lading, packing list and, where required, the certificate of origin.

This guide covers each step from the Turkish side. For the supplier's side, such as how Chinese factories invoice and which accounts they use, see our general guide on how to pay suppliers in China.

Turkish import rules that shape the payment

Türkiye's import rules are light on registration and heavier on taxes and product checks. The US International Trade Administration (ITA) states that an importer needs only a tax number to import all but restricted items. Türkiye and the EU share a customs union for industrial products, and Türkiye has adopted the EU's common external tariff for most industrial goods. That means goods from China pay the same standard duty rate they would pay entering the EU, plus any Turkish measures on top.

Those Turkish measures are the part importers from China most often miss. The ITA states that Türkiye sometimes applies additional customs duties on certain products from specific countries, and names China and India as examples. Additional customs duties, called ilave gümrük vergisi in Turkish, are set and changed by Presidential Decree, and anti-dumping duties can also apply to specific Chinese products. Both can change between the date you agree a price and the date the goods arrive, so check the rate for your tariff code when you place the order and again before shipment.

Sources: International Trade Administration, Türkiye import tariffs and Türkiye import requirements and documentation (last published 29 January 2026). As published on 29 October 2026. Confirm the rates for your tariff code with your customs broker.

CIF stands for cost, insurance and freight: the value of the goods plus the cost of shipping and insuring them to Türkiye. TAREKS is the Ministry of Trade's risk-based control system, launched in 2010, which runs product safety checks electronically. If your goods fall under TAREKS or need CE evidence, ask the Chinese supplier for the certificates before you pay the deposit, not after the goods are at the port.

Payment terms and the 6% KKDF levy

Turkish banks offer the standard trade payment terms, and each has a Turkish name you will see on bank forms. The Resource Utilization Support Fund, Kaynak Kullanımını Destekleme Fonu or KKDF, is a levy on imports financed on credit, set by Decision No. 88/12944. Its rate is 6% of the invoice value. Whether it applies depends on the payment term and on when the money leaves your account.

Sources: Muhasebetr, KKDF on imports under Decision No. 88/12944, Article 3(d), and General Directorate of Customs circulars 2011/16 and 2013/6 (2 June 2021). As published on 29 October 2026. Confirm the current rate for your product with your bank.

The timing rule is the one to plan around. For cash against goods imports, the price must be paid to the bank on or before the date the declaration for release into free circulation is registered, and the bank must send it to the exporter within two business days. If the transfer is made on or before the registration date, KKDF is not charged. The rate is 0% for imports made under an export incentive certificate or an inward processing authorization, the permit that lets a manufacturer import inputs for goods it will export. Ask your bank which rate applies to your import before you agree a credit term.

A worked example

A Turkish wholesaler orders $50,000 of goods from a factory in Guangdong. It pays a 30% deposit of $15,000 by SWIFT when it signs the proforma invoice. The balance of $35,000 is due on cash against goods terms.

• Balance paid before the declaration is registered: no KKDF. The wholesaler pays only the bank's transfer charges.
• Balance paid after the declaration is registered, on a product with the 6% rate: KKDF is calculated on the invoice value at 6%. On a $50,000 invoice, that is $3,000.

Worked example by the Helm Editorial Team based on the rules described by Muhasebetr (2 June 2021). As published on 29 October 2026.

For a business that already holds dollars, or can buy them a few days early, paying the balance before clearance is usually the lower-cost path. If you need time to pay, compare the 6% levy with the cost of trade finance arranged before the goods arrive.

How the money reaches a Chinese supplier

Most Chinese suppliers invoice in US dollars, and many sell through a Hong Kong trading company with a Hong Kong bank account. A Turkish importer pays in one of the ways below. Whichever route you choose, pay the company named on the invoice, so the payment, your bank's records and the customs declaration all match.

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.

Yuan payments are less common than dollars. Whether your bank can send CNY, through which correspondent, and at what rate, is a question for the bank, and the answer differs from bank to bank. A correspondent bank is a bank that holds an account for another bank and settles payments in its currency; your bank's choice of correspondent affects both cost and timing.

A letter of credit (LC) is a bank's written promise to pay the seller when it presents documents that comply with the credit. Documentary collection sends the shipping documents through the banks, and you receive them only after you pay or accept a bill of exchange.

What the supplier's bank checks

China manages foreign exchange through the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE). As summarized by PNC Bank, the supplier must be on SAFE's list of companies with goods trade foreign exchange business, and its bank verifies receipts using documents such as the contract, invoice and customs declaration. The remitter and beneficiary must be the parties to the contract. A payment from a company that is not on the contract can be held while the supplier's bank asks questions.

What it costs: published bank charges

Turkish banks publish their charges for commercial customers on fee information forms. The table shows published figures from two banks as examples of what to budget for. Other banks set their own charges.

Sources: Tera Bank, commercial customers product and service request and information form (dated 20 April 2026); Akbank, foreign trade tariffs. As published on 29 October 2026.

Tera Bank's figures exclude BSMV, the banking and insurance transactions tax, which is added on top of bank fees. If you buy dollars with lira to make the payment, the exchange rate your bank quotes is a separate cost, so ask for the rate before you confirm the transfer.

Who pays the transfer fees

OUR, SHA and BEN are SWIFT charge codes. OUR means you pay all transfer fees and the supplier receives the full invoice amount. SHA shares the fees, so intermediary banks can deduct theirs from the amount in transit. BEN puts all fees on the supplier. Chinese suppliers usually expect the full invoice amount, and a short payment delays shipment while the supplier queries the gap. Send supplier payments on OUR terms unless the contract says otherwise.

Documents that tie the payment to customs

Your bank, Turkish customs and the supplier's bank each compare the same details: the supplier's name, the invoice number, the goods and the value. The customs declaration states the tariff code, origin and customs value of the goods. Most importers use a licensed customs broker, called a gümrük müşaviri, to prepare and file it.

Sources: International Trade Administration, Türkiye import requirements and documentation (last published 29 January 2026); Muhasebetr (2 June 2021). As published on 29 October 2026.

Three matches cause most of the problems. The beneficiary on the SWIFT transfer must be the seller on the commercial invoice. The value on the invoice must match the value on the customs declaration. And for a credit term, the payment date must fall on or before the declaration's registration date if you want the KKDF exemption. Ask the supplier to send copies of the commercial invoice, packing list and bill of lading before you pay the balance, and check them against your purchase order.

Informal routes and the risks under Turkish law

Some importers pay through an agent who collects lira in Istanbul and pays the supplier from an account in China, or through a cryptocurrency trader. The facts below are what an importer should weigh before using these routes.

• Crypto assets cannot be used in payments. The central bank's Regulation on the Disuse of Crypto Assets in Payments, published on 16 April 2021 and in force since 30 April 2021, states that crypto assets cannot be used in payments directly or indirectly, and that no service can be provided for payments made through them. This covers stablecoins such as USDT and USDC.
• Unlicensed payment services are a crime. Article 28 of Law No. 6493 sets a prison term of one to three years and a judicial fine of up to 5,000 days for operating as a payment or electronic money institution without a license from the central bank.
• The payment does not match the import. A transfer made by someone else does not appear in your bank's records, so it cannot be matched to your customs declaration or used to show the payment date for KKDF.
• 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.
• There is no trace. A SWIFT transfer from your own account carries a reference and can be traced through the banks. Cash handed to an agent cannot.

Where Helm fits

Helm is a financial technology company, not a bank. Accounts are held with regulated partner institutions. A Helm account gives a 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 business that buys from China, it works like this:

• Pay suppliers in USD. Send international payments by SWIFT from the 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.
• Collect from buyers abroad. Exporters can receive dollars from foreign buyers and hold them in USD to pay suppliers.
• Finance the balance. Trade finance, such as supplier finance and working capital, is arranged case by case, which can let you pay before clearance instead of on credit terms.

Helm accounts can also receive, send and convert USDC and USDT, but a company in Türkiye should not use those features to pay a supplier: the central bank's 2021 regulation bars crypto assets from use in payments. A Helm account sits outside Türkiye, and Turkish rules on goods export proceeds and KKDF rely on records kept by Turkish banks and customs. Confirm with your Turkish bank and legal adviser how a payment from an account outside Türkiye is documented against your customs declaration before using one for an import. Groups that buy from China through a trading company registered outside Türkiye can use the account in that company's name. 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 Türkiye

• Find the tariff code and check the duty, any additional customs duty, anti-dumping duty and import VAT before agreeing a price.
• Check whether the product falls under TAREKS, needs CE evidence or a control certificate, and get the certificates from the supplier before the deposit.
• Choose the payment term with KKDF in mind: advance, sight letter of credit and cash against documents are not subject to it.
• Pay the company named on the invoice, in USD by SWIFT, with charges set to OUR and the invoice number in the reference.
• Pay any cash against goods balance on or before the date the customs declaration is registered.
• Check that the invoice, packing list, bill of lading and certificate of origin match each other and your purchase order.
• Keep the SWIFT confirmations, invoices and customs declaration together for each order.
• Do not use crypto assets, including stablecoins, to pay suppliers.

For how other importers organize supplier payments, see the importers page, and for the same process in another market, our guide on how to pay Chinese suppliers from Egypt.

Questions

References

1. International Trade Administration: Türkiye import requirements and documentation
2. International Trade Administration: Türkiye import tariffs
3. Muhasebetr: KKDF on imports by payment method (2 June 2021)
4. Tera Bank: Commercial customers product and service request and information form
5. Akbank: Foreign trade tariffs
6. CMS: Turkey introduces its first regulation on crypto assets
7. Bıçak Law: Legal liabilities and sanctions under Law No. 6493 (12 July 2025)
8. 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.