Paying a Hong Kong trading company in HKD, US dollars or offshore yuan: bank details without IBAN, checks by local banks, typhoons and public holidays.
Estimate the minimum fee
The final fee and rate are fixed in the payment order
Minimum amount: 10,000 USD or equivalent
This is a minimum, not an offer or a rate lock. The final figure depends on the country, amount and the banks involved and is fixed in the payment order.
Request a quoteHong Kong has long served as a settlement hub for trade with mainland China. A Hong Kong company signs the contract and issues the invoice, while a factory in Guangdong or another province ships the goods. This is how Russian companies buy electronics, components, lighting equipment, tools, toys and clothing. For the payment, the arrangement is routine if the beneficiary is the same in the contract, the invoice and the bank details, and the link to the factory is visible from the specification or the packing list.
Hong Kong traders use terms familiar from Asian trade: a deposit with the order and the balance after the batch is inspected at the factory, before the container leaves. Large orders are split into tranches. With us, each tranche is documented by its own payment order under a single agreement with the agent.
The Hong Kong dollar (HKD) is pegged to the US dollar and stays within a narrow band, so many suppliers see no difference and put USD in the invoice. The third option is the yuan. In Hong Kong it is called the offshore yuan (CNH) and has its own rate, different from the mainland one. Trading companies usually have a multi-currency account with a sub-account for each currency.
The agent transfers the currency named in the invoice. If the supplier does not mind, we will lay out all three options in roubles. We select the agent from our pool for the supplier’s bank in Hong Kong and for the chosen currency. The exchange rate and the fee are written in the payment order before you send the roubles.
Hong Kong does not use IBAN. The account number is made up of a three-digit bank code, a branch code and the account number itself. Add the bank’s SWIFT code and the company’s full name. The name ends with the word Limited, and the bank holds it in full: the abbreviation Ltd. in the invoice when the bank has the full Limited is already grounds for a question. The CR registration number and the BR certificate help check the beneficiary before you sign the agency agreement.
Hong Kong banks check trading companies strictly. The beneficiary may be asked to show the delivery documents: contract, invoice, packing list, bill of lading. While the supplier gathers its answer, crediting is on hold. It can be tougher: the bank closes a trading company’s account after a review, and the supplier is the last to find out. The bank will reject a payment to a closed account. That is why, shortly before payment, we ask the supplier to confirm that the account is active.
If you need a guarantee, the roubles wait for the currency to be credited in a special escrow account at a Russian bank. This scheme is on request, for an additional fee. You do not pay VEDmost separately: our fee is paid by the agent.
Hong Kong has a peculiarity of its own: the weather. When Typhoon Signal No. 8 or a Black Rainstorm Warning is in force, bank branches close, and crediting may move to the next working day. In summer and early autumn this is common. Holidays only partly coincide with those in mainland China: besides Lunar New Year, Hong Kong has holidays at Easter and Christmas. Check the calendar if the supplier needs an advance by a specific date.
Five steps, the same for every country. Country specifics are described above.
Beneficiary's country, amount, currency, the invoice and the contract or bill, your company's and the beneficiary's details. We review the request before any documents are signed.
We select a network company and a route and prepare the documents. You sign an agency agreement with that company, which sets the execution period, and a payment order: amount, exchange rate and fee. All of this before you transfer your roubles.
You transfer roubles to the network company from your account at a Russian bank. If you need a guarantee, they wait for execution in a special escrow account, for an additional fee.
The agent sends the currency to the beneficiary under this payment order. A sub-agent is engaged only with your consent. The route does not change without a payment order.
We send you the payment confirmation, and a SWIFT confirmation on request. Then the completion certificate, the agent's report and the currency control package. The deal is not closed until the currency has been sent to the beneficiary.
If you need a guarantee, the payment goes through a special escrow account at a Russian bank: the roubles wait there until the agent sends the currency to the beneficiary and are released only upon execution. This scheme carries an additional fee, shown in the quote before the agreement.
The agent executes the payment within 3 business days: the period is written into the agency agreement.
If the beneficiary's bank accepts payment only from a specific payer, the agent engages a sub-agent. Only with your consent. Your agency agreement does not change.
For large volumes, on request, we assign an agent backed by a large exporter's surety; some companies in our network have one. It can be combined with escrow.
Tell us the rate you pay now or send your current agent’s documents. We’ll calculate the all-in cost with the FX markup and charges and look for a lower rate in our network. If there isn’t one, we’ll say so. The comparison is free.
The party that signed the contract and issued the invoice. If that is the Hong Kong company, the currency goes to its account. The factory may appear in the documents as the manufacturer or the shipper.
CR is the company's number in the Hong Kong register. BR is the business registration certificate, which is renewed regularly. Ask the supplier to send both: we use them to check the beneficiary before you sign the agency agreement.
It is the same currency, but Hong Kong uses the offshore yuan (CNH), which has its own rate. If an invoice in yuan is payable to a Hong Kong account, the agent sends CNH. You see the exchange rate and the fee in the payment order.
When Typhoon Signal No. 8 or a Black Rainstorm Warning is in force, Hong Kong banks close their branches, and crediting may move to the next working day.
The bank will reject a transfer to a closed account. That is why, shortly before payment, we ask the supplier to confirm that the account is active and open in the invoice currency.
Describe the payment. We'll reply with a proposed route and terms. We name the agent in advance, and the rate and fee go into the payment order before your roubles are debited.