Paying a US supplier from Russia: dollars via correspondent banks, ABA and an intermediary bank, export licenses, dollar holidays. Route checked before payment.
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 quoteLaboratory reagents and consumables, medical devices and parts for medical equipment, seeds and veterinary drugs, scientific equipment. A separate group is official fees and charges: to the US Patent and Trademark Office for patents and trademarks, to exhibition and conference organizers, to publishers for subscriptions. Each payment needs a contract or an invoice issued to your company with a clear subject. A payment has a minimum amount, so small fees are not processed as separate payments.
For scientific instruments and reagents, a US supplier may ask for an end-user statement: who will use the goods and for what. You fill it in, and it will also come in handy if the bank asks about the purpose.
Currency: the US dollar (USD). US suppliers invoice almost only in dollars. Every dollar transfer passes through correspondent banks in the USA, and when the payment goes into the country itself, the beneficiary’s bank is American as well. Each bank in the chain screens the payment against its restriction lists. A transfer that a bank considers connected with a person on those lists may be blocked. So before you transfer your roubles, we check the beneficiary, its bank, the subject and everyone in the deal chain, afresh for every payment.
The USA has no IBAN. The nine-digit ABA number (routing number) is used for domestic transfers. A payment from abroad needs the bank’s SWIFT code and the account number. Small banks and credit unions have no SWIFT code of their own: in that case the instructions name an intermediary bank and include a “for further credit” note. We copy these lines into the payment order without abbreviation.
A US company is registered in a specific state, with the form Inc., Corp. or LLC. Its status can be seen in the state’s public register. We check the name and the address against the contract.
For many goods, a US supplier must obtain a license to sell to Russia. Relaxed rules apply to medicines, medical devices, food and agricultural goods. If a license is required and there is none, there is no lawful route, and we tell you so before you sign anything. A US company usually ships to a new buyer from Russia only after full prepayment.
For a payment to the USA, we choose an agent from our pool with a dollar route that reaches your supplier’s bank on the payment date. You see the rouble-to-dollar rate and the agent’s fee in the payment order and sign it before the debit. On request, the roubles wait in a special escrow account at a Russian bank until the dollars are credited, for an additional fee. You don’t pay VEDmost: our fee is paid by the agent.
Dollars are not transferred on days when the settlement system of the US central bank is closed: January 1, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day, June 19, July 4, Labor Day, Columbus Day, November 11, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas. Five of them always fall on a Monday. On those days dollar payments stand still worldwide, not just in the USA.
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.
No. The nine-digit ABA number is used for transfers within the USA. A payment from abroad needs the bank's SWIFT code and the account number, and if the bank has no SWIFT code of its own, the intermediary bank's details with a 'for further credit' note.
Banks in the chain screen the payment against US restriction lists and may block a transfer they consider connected with persons on those lists. That is why we check the beneficiary, its bank and the subject before you transfer your roubles, for every payment.
Yes, if the invoice is issued to your company and makes clear what the payment is for. But a payment has a minimum amount: we do not process small fees and dues as separate payments.
For many goods, yes, and it is the supplier who obtains it. Relaxed rules apply to medicines, medical devices and food. If a license is required and there is none, there is no lawful route, and we will tell you so before you transfer your roubles.
When the settlement system of the US central bank is closed: January 1, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, June 19, July 4, Labor Day, Columbus Day, November 11, Thanksgiving Day 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.