The short answer

The main risks when paying overseas suppliers are payment fraud (fake invoices and changed bank details), non-delivery, wrong or poor-quality goods, supplier failure, currency moves and paperwork problems. Protect your business by checking new suppliers, agreeing safer payment terms — escrow or a letter of credit for new or large orders — and never changing bank details without a phone call to a number you already have. Use two approvers for new payees and large payments, insure goods in transit, and fix exchange rates on big orders. If you think you've paid a fraudster, call your bank immediately. Vita Capital, our FX and escrow partner, offers trade escrow and corporate FX with a dedicated relationship manager.

The main risks at a glance

The six risks every importer should plan for.

A general guide to supplier payment risk for importers in Thailand.

Payment fraud: the biggest risk

Business email compromise is simple and devastating. A criminal gains access to — or convincingly imitates — the email of your supplier, your own finance team or a senior manager, then asks for a payment to go to a "new" bank account. The FBI received 24,768 complaints about it in 2025, with reported losses of over US$3 billion — nearly 15% of all losses it recorded, from just 2.5% of complaints.

Common versions

The commonest frauds follow a few patterns. The first is changed bank details — "Our bank account has changed; please pay the attached invoice to our new account." Another is the fake invoice: a genuine-looking invoice from a real supplier, but with the fraudster's bank details. "The urgent boss" is an email that appears to come from the owner or a director, asking for an urgent, confidential payment. In intercepted conversations, the criminal watches a real email thread and steps in just before payment. And look-alike addresses use an email domain one letter different from the real supplier's.

Why it works

The emails often look exactly right — correct names, real invoice numbers, the supplier's usual tone — because the criminal has seen the real correspondence. The only reliable defence is to check through a different channel.

Warning signs of payment fraud

Any of these should trigger a phone call before money moves.

A general guide. When in doubt, call the supplier on a number you already have — never one given in the suspicious email.

Simple controls that stop fraud

1. Verify every bank detail change by phone — on a number from your own records, not from the email.
2. Check the account name — it should match the supplier's registered company name.
3. Use two approvers — for new payees, changed details and payments above a set amount.
4. Keep a trusted payee list — in your online banking, with changes logged and checked.
5. Test with a small payment — for a new supplier, confirm a small payment arrives before sending a large one.
6. Secure your email — strong passwords, two-factor authentication and a VPN on public Wi-Fi.
7. Train your team — everyone who handles payments should know the warning signs.
8. Tell suppliers your rules — that you'll never accept bank changes by email alone, and nor should they.

Non-delivery and quality risk

Even with a genuine supplier, things can go wrong: goods are late, short, wrong or poor quality, or never ship at all. The more you pay before you can check the goods, the more you have at risk.

Reduce the risk

To guard against goods that never arrive or aren't as ordered, order samples before committing to a large order and write a clear specification — materials, sizes, colours, quantities, packaging and tolerances. Use independent inspection before shipment for quality-sensitive goods, and release money on shipping documents and inspection reports rather than promises. For first orders, use escrow, so money is released only when agreed conditions are met, and keep deposits proportionate, especially with new suppliers.

Our guide to trade and import escrow explains how to tie payments to shipment and inspection.

Where to start

Escrow and expert FX for supplier payments — and cover for your goods and business.

Checking a new supplier

A little research before the first order prevents most problems. Confirm the company exists on the official register in its country and that the name, address and directors match, and find out how long it has been in business and in what products. Speak to other buyers, ideally in Thailand or nearby markets, and check that the website and contact details are consistent across the website, contract and invoices. Check samples before ordering in volume, and for significant orders, arrange a factory audit or visit in person or through an inspection company. The bank account should be in the supplier's own company name, in the country where it operates. Trade fair and platform records are useful starting points, but not proof on their own.

Choosing payment terms by risk

Match the payment method to how well you know the supplier and how much is at stake.

A general guide. Agree terms in writing before the order is placed.

Supplier failure

Suppliers can run into financial trouble — and if they do while holding your deposit, recovering it can be slow or impossible. Signs to watch for include sudden requests for larger deposits, missed delivery dates, frequent staff changes, and pressure to pay early. Keep deposits proportionate, avoid paying far in advance of production, spread orders across more than one supplier for critical goods, and use escrow so your money isn't in the supplier's account until the goods are on their way.

Currency risk on supplier payments

Between agreeing an order and paying for it, the exchange rate can move. The baht went from about ฿31.88 to the dollar in September 2025 to around ฿33.8 in late July 2026 — a move of roughly 6%, or around ฿190,000 on every US$100,000 of goods. Protect your margins by fixing the rate when you fix the price, using a forward contract, and by setting a sensible budget rate. Our guides to forward contracts and FX budgeting explain how.

Paperwork and compliance risk

Missing or incorrect documents cause delays at customs, at the bank and with any escrow or letter of credit. Most imports need a written contract or purchase order setting out the goods, price, currency, shipping terms and payment terms, and a commercial invoice and packing list matching the goods actually shipped. The bill of lading or air waybill proves shipment, a certificate of origin is needed to claim free-trade-agreement duty rates, and inspection certificates are needed where required. For larger payments, your bank may also ask for invoices and contracts before sending money.

Our guide to cross-border transaction documentation covers the paperwork in detail.

Spotting a fake or altered invoice

Fraudsters often send a real supplier's invoice with only the bank details changed, so check every invoice against what you already know. Compare the bank details with those on file, character by character, and check the sender's full email address, not just the display name. Look at whether the invoice numbering follows the supplier's usual sequence, whether the amounts and items match the purchase order, and whether fonts, logos or layout differ from earlier invoices. Be alert to any new wording in the payment instructions about urgency or confidentiality.

If anything differs, pause the payment and call the supplier.

Country and logistics risk

Some risks have nothing to do with your supplier. Port congestion, shipping disruption, export restrictions, sanctions, public holidays and political events can all delay goods or payments. The Bank of Thailand noted in August 2026 that geopolitical developments in the Middle East had made the baht volatile — a reminder that events far away can affect costs at home. Build realistic lead times into orders, avoid paying long before goods can ship, keep contracts clear about delays, and spread critical purchases across more than one supplier or country where you can.

Insurance that helps

Insurance won't stop a fraudulent payment, but it protects other parts of the deal. Cargo or goods-in-transit insurance covers loss or damage on the way to Thailand, and stock and premises cover takes over once the goods arrive. Exporters selling on credit can use trade credit insurance to protect against buyers who don't pay. And some cyber insurance policies cover losses and recovery costs from cyber incidents — check exactly what's included.

We don't sell insurance ourselves, but we can introduce you to specialists who arrange business cover in Thailand.

Building trust over time

The safest supplier relationships are built step by step. A common path starts with samples, to check quality before any real order, then a first order through escrow, released on shipping documents and inspection. The next few orders use escrow or a modest deposit with the balance paid against documents, and once the relationship is established, trusted partners can move to deposit and balance, or open account terms.

Even with long-standing suppliers, keep the most important rule: bank details are never changed without a phone call.

If you think you've paid a fraudster

Speed matters. The sooner you act, the better the chance of stopping or recovering the payment.

If you've paid a fraudster, call your bank immediately and ask it to recall or stop the payment and contact the receiving bank, giving the amount, date, beneficiary account and the payment's tracking reference. Contact your real supplier on a known number to confirm what's happened, report it to the police and keep the reference. Secure your email by changing passwords and checking for unauthorised access or forwarding rules, warn your team and suppliers that the same criminals may try again, and review your controls to fix the gap that let it happen.

Be wary of anyone who later contacts you offering to recover the money for an upfront fee — this is a common follow-up scam.

Risks for Thai exporters

Exporters face the mirror image: shipping goods and then not being paid. Protect your business by checking new buyers, asking for deposits or escrow before production, using letters of credit for large orders, considering trade credit insurance for open-account sales, and fixing exchange rates on confirmed orders. And the same email fraud works in reverse — criminals may tell your customers that your bank details have changed, so warn customers that you'll never change details by email.

A simple supplier payment policy

Write your rules down so everyone follows them, every time. New suppliers should be checked before the first order, and payment terms matched to supplier history and order size. Bank details should be set up only from verified documents, with any change verified by phone, and two people should approve new payees, changes and payments above a set amount. Use escrow for first orders and orders above a set value, fix rates on orders above a set value, and keep contracts, invoices, documents and confirmations for every payment. And make sure everyone who handles payments is trained to spot the warning signs.

Three real-world examples

These are illustrations, not real businesses.

The changed bank details that weren't

A Bangkok importer received an email from its regular Chinese supplier saying the company had moved banks. The invoice looked perfect. Its policy required a phone call to a known number — and the supplier confirmed it had sent no such email. A US$60,000 loss was avoided by a two-minute call.

A first order through escrow

A Pattaya retailer found a new supplier online. Instead of a 30% deposit, it proposed escrow with release on the bill of lading and an independent inspection. The inspection found a packaging fault, which the supplier fixed before shipping — and before any money was released.

A supplier in trouble

A Chiang Mai manufacturer noticed a long-standing supplier missing dates and asking for bigger deposits. It reduced deposits, moved new orders to escrow and qualified a second supplier. When the first supplier closed, the manufacturer had no money at risk.

Your supplier payment safety checklist

• New supplier checked — registration, history, references.
• Samples approved and specification written.
• Payment terms matched to risk.
• Escrow or letter of credit for first and large orders.
• Bank details verified by phone on a known number.
• Account name matches the supplier.
• Two approvers for new payees and large payments.
• Exchange rate fixed on large orders.
• Goods insured in transit.
• Documents complete and filed.

Top tips

In short: never change bank details on an email alone, and always call a number you already have. Require two approvers for anything new or large, check new suppliers before the first order and use escrow while trust is being built. Pay against evidence, not promises, fix the rate on big orders — and act fast if something looks wrong.

How we researched this guide

This guide draws on the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center's 2025 Annual Report (as reported by McDonald Hopkins and Rexxfield, April 2026); MGR Online on Thailand's trade in the first half of 2026; Trading Economics on the baht; Krungsri's International Payment tariff (effective 1 July 2026); and Vita Capital's published escrow and corporate FX services. Checked 21 October 2026. This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice.