Paying a Korean supplier from Russia: dollars or won, business number checks, trading houses instead of factories, Seollal and Chuseok. Rate and fee before debit.
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 quoteCar parts and used cars for dealers, cosmetics and skin care products, instant noodles, sauces and snacks, medical and aesthetic equipment, chemicals and polymers, electronic components, marine equipment. Korean manufacturers often sell abroad through trading houses and sales companies within their group. So the seller on the invoice and the factory on the packaging may differ, and that is normal for the payment.
For used cars, the payment goes to the Korean exporter who bought the cars from a dealer or at auction. The exporter’s invoice must show the VIN of each car: the bank and currency control use it to link the payment to specific goods, and the car is cleared through customs by the same number. Bear in mind that a payment has a minimum amount.
The currency of the Republic of Korea is the won (KRW). It hardly circulates outside the country, and export prices there are set in US dollars, occasionally in euros. Invoices in won come from small companies and for services. A payment in won is harder to arrange, and this shows up at the agent selection stage.
Korea has no IBAN. The transfer needs the account number in the specific bank’s format, the SWIFT code and the English name of the account holder. At the bank, a Korean company’s English name is recorded the way it was set up when the account was opened, and this spelling may differ from the contract. Ask the supplier for a bank confirmation or a letter setting out its details for foreign currency receipts.
Every company has a ten-digit business registration number: three, two and five digits separated by hyphens. It appears on the invoice and in the export declaration. We use it to check that the company is active and that its name matches the contract. When crediting foreign currency, a Korean bank asks the beneficiary for the basis of the payment, so the payment reference repeats the contract and the invoice word for word.
South Korea restricts the export of many industrial goods to Russia: machine tools, construction machinery, electronics. The Korean exporter is responsible for the export permit, but if the goods are on the list, payment will not help it ship them. We review the subject of the invoice before you transfer your roubles. Cosmetics, food and ordinary consumer goods are generally not covered by these restrictions.
First we check which agent in our pool has an open route to the Korean beneficiary’s bank in the required currency on the payment date, and we take that agent. You see the rouble conversion rate and the agent’s fee in the payment order before the debit. On request, the roubles wait in a special escrow account at a Russian bank until the dollars or won reach the supplier, for an additional fee. You don’t need to pay VEDmost separately: the brokerage fee is transferred by the agent.
Korean companies sell equipment on a schedule: the first installment on signing, the second at shipment, the last after commissioning. Cosmetics and food are usually shipped to a new buyer after full prepayment. Banks close for three days each at Seollal and at Chuseok. Many factories also stop on these days, so it is wise to send a payment due at shipment one or two weeks ahead.
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 invoice currency. Korean companies usually issue export invoices in US dollars. The won hardly circulates outside Korea, so a route in won is harder to put together, and this is already clear when we select the agent.
The seller named in the contract. Korean manufacturers often sell abroad through trading companies within their group. We check that the seller in the contract, on the invoice and in the bank details is one and the same.
The business registration number. It has ten digits, written in groups of three, two and five separated by hyphens. The number appears on the invoice and in the supplier's export declaration.
For three days each at Seollal, the Lunar New Year, and at Chuseok in autumn. Also on March 1, May 5, Buddha's Birthday, June 6, August 15, October 3 and 9, and Christmas.
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.