Chinese supplier asked you to pay a new bank account? Check before you send (2026)

Why do "new bank details" emails cause so many losses?

Because the email often really does come from your supplier's address. Criminals get into a supplier's or buyer's mailbox, read the conversation, and step in just as an invoice is due. The UK Financial Ombudsman describes a typical case: a director received a genuine invoice, then minutes later a second email from the supplier's real address saying the usual account was being "audited". He paid £12,000 to the fraudster.

UK Finance recorded 3,083 invoice and mandate scams in the first half of 2025, with £19.9 million lost. Cases rose on the year before, even though losses fell. When the payee is in China, getting the money back depends on a foreign bank and on the account holder agreeing.

Is a change of bank account ever genuine?

Yes, sometimes. Chinese companies do change banks, open a USD account or move export sales to a related company. But a genuine change has a pattern you can check, and a fake one usually fails it.

Check	Genuine change usually	Fraud usually
Timing	Announced well before an invoice, with a reason	Arrives just as a payment is due, with urgency
Account name	Same legal name as the company on your contract	A different company, a person, or a name you have never seen
Bank location	Same country as before, or a related company you already know	A new country or a bank with no link to the supplier
Reason given	Specific and checkable	"Audit", "tax inspection", "account frozen", "year-end"
Confirmation	The supplier happily confirms by phone and in a sealed letter	Contact is email only, or the "new" number is in the same email

How do I check a new bank account before paying?

1. Stop and do not reply to the email that asked for the change. Anyone reading that mailbox will see your reply.
2. Call the supplier on a number from your contract, an old invoice or their website, never one from the new email. Speak to someone you have dealt with before.
3. Ask for the change in writing on company letterhead with the company seal (公章). The Chinese name on the seal must match the company on your contract.
4. Compare the account name with the Chinese legal name on the business licence and on China's official register. A single different character means a different company.
5. If the account is in another company's name (for example a Hong Kong company), ask why, and see our guide on paying a Hong Kong or differently named account.
6. Pay a small test amount only after all of the above, and ask the supplier to confirm receipt by phone.
7. Agree a procedure for the future: no bank change is valid unless confirmed by phone with a named person and by sealed letter. Put it in your supply agreement.

The China law firm Harris Sliwoski gives the same core advice: "Have a special procedure set up with your suppliers for confirming bank account changes." It also cites an FBI analysis in which 84% of 44 fraudulent transfers went to accounts in China and Hong Kong.

I have already paid the new account. What now?

1. Call your bank's fraud line immediately and ask it to recall the payment (a SWIFT recall). Speed matters more than anything else.
2. Tell your real supplier by phone, so they can secure their email and warn other customers.
3. Report it: in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to Report Fraud (which replaced Action Fraud in December 2025), in Scotland to Police Scotland on 101.
4. Keep everything: the emails with full headers, invoices, payment confirmation and call notes.
5. Check your own mailbox for forwarding rules you did not set up, and change passwords with two-factor sign-in. The leak may be on your side.

A recall to China succeeds only if the receiving bank and the account holder agree, so it is often slow and not guaranteed. The UK's APP scam reimbursement rules cover UK-to-UK payments and exclude international ones. Our guide How to get your money back from a Chinese supplier covers the next steps.

Who bears the loss: me or the supplier?

It depends on your contract, the law that governs it and whose email was compromised. Many buyers assume the supplier must still deliver, and many suppliers say they were never paid. There is no automatic answer. Act quickly, keep the evidence, and take legal advice from a lawyer qualified in the law of your contract if the sum is significant.

Common questions

The email came from my supplier's real address. Can it still be fake?

Yes. In many cases the criminal has access to the real mailbox, which is why the email looks right. Always confirm a bank change by phone on a number you already had.

Does Confirmation of Payee protect me when paying China?

No. Confirmation of Payee checks names on UK accounts. For an international payment you must check the name against the supplier's documents yourself.

My supplier says its account is being audited and I must use a temporary one. Is that normal?

That is one of the most common scam reasons. Audits do not stop a Chinese company from receiving payments. Confirm by phone and in a sealed letter before paying anything.

Can Thornfield check a new account for me?

Yes. The Full Supplier Check compares the payee with the company's official registration, calls the supplier in Mandarin and gives you a written verdict, normally within 3–5 working days. Tell us if a payment is due sooner.

Sources

• Financial Ombudsman Service: case study, intercepted invoice scam (accessed October 2026)
• Today's Conveyancer, reporting UK Finance figures for January–June 2025 (28 October 2025)
• Harris Sliwoski: The bank account switch scam (7 June 2024)
• City of London Police: Report Fraud service goes live (December 2025)
• Payment Systems Regulator: APP scams reimbursement policy statement PS25/5 (May 2025)