A payment can leave the importer's account without immediately appearing in the supplier's available balance. The funds may be in compliance review, moving through an intermediary, waiting for beneficiary information, rejected by the receiving bank, or credited with deductions.
If you are new to how these payments are routed, the China Payments overview explains the currencies and rails first.
First identify the actual status
Do not treat “debited” as proof of final delivery. Ask the sending institution for:
Payment confirmation
Value date
Amount and currency instructed
Beneficiary details used
Payment reference
SWIFT message or equivalent transaction record
UETR or tracking reference when available
Confirmation of whether the payment was sent, held, rejected, returned, or credited
SWIFT GPI can provide tracking and transparency when the institutions and payment route support it.
Common reasons for delay
Beneficiary name mismatch
Incorrect account number or bank identifier
Missing invoice or payment-purpose information
Compliance review of the parties or goods
Correspondent-bank review
Cutoff times, holidays, or time-zone differences
Unsupported currency at the beneficiary account
Payment sent to the wrong branch or intermediary
Supplier unable to match the payment to the invoice
Request for additional trade documents
Why the supplier received less
The shortfall may result from:
Sending-bank fees
Intermediary-bank deductions
Beneficiary-bank charges
The selected charge code
Unexpected currency conversion
Supplier bank applying the payment at a different rate
For SWIFT payments, OUR generally instructs the sender to bear charges, SHA divides charges, and BEN places charges on the beneficiary. Actual treatment can still depend on the banks and route.
What to do when a payment is stopped
Obtain the transaction record and exact status.
Recheck the beneficiary information against independently verified instructions.
Collect the invoice, contract, payment purpose, and shipping evidence.
Answer the bank's questions precisely and consistently.
Ask whether an amendment, investigation, recall, or return is appropriate.
Do not send a duplicate payment until the first payment's position is known.
A return is not always immediate
If a beneficiary bank rejects the payment, the funds may travel back through the correspondent chain. Fees or FX differences may reduce the returned amount. The sending institution should explain the available investigation process and expected next steps without promising a return date it does not control.
Preventing recurring problems
Maintain approved supplier templates, verify account changes independently, use meaningful invoice references, pre-clear unusual transactions, and send complete documents before a deadline becomes urgent.
Request a payment investigation assessment
Provide the payment confirmation, date, amount, currency, beneficiary instructions, invoice, current status, bank communications, and whether a duplicate payment has been attempted. Faisal Khan LLC can help organize the facts and coordinate with the relevant provider, but it cannot compel a bank to release, return, or credit funds.
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Last reviewed: 1 October 2026.