Paying a foreign supplier from Türkiye: invoice, bank documents, SWIFT fields and timing

A payment to an overseas supplier moves smoothly when the paper trail is ready before the transfer order is signed. This guide, written for Turkish trading companies, walks through the supplier agreement, the choice between advance and after-delivery payment, the documents a bank asks for, the fields of the SWIFT message, realistic timing and the extra questions a bank may raise.

Settle the paper trail with the supplier first

A clean payment starts with documents, not with the transfer form. Before you instruct the bank, agree with the supplier a proforma invoice or sales contract naming the goods, quantity, unit price, currency, the Incoterms 2020 rule with its named place, and the payment terms. The bank later compares every document against this base.

Ask the supplier, in writing, for the beneficiary details exactly as its own bank holds them. A name written one way on the invoice and another on the account is enough for the receiving bank to hold or return the payment, so collect the following:

• beneficiary name and address as on the account;
• IBAN or account number and currency;
• bank name, SWIFT/BIC and country;
• invoice number as payment reference.

Confirm these details through a second channel, not only by e-mail. A last-minute change of bank details is a known fraud pattern, and a returned payment costs time and correspondent fees. Keep the confirmation in the file; the bank may ask how you verified the account.

Advance payment or payment after delivery

Article 2 of the Import Circular 2020/1 lists the forms in which an import may be paid. For a trading company two matter most: advance payment (peşin ödeme) and open account (mal mukabili), with letter of credit and cash against documents as alternatives. The Circular sets no time limit between an advance payment and shipment.

Under Article 3(5) of the Circular the bank executes an open-account transfer on the basis of the customs declaration date and number the company declares in writing. Agree the form with the supplier before the order is confirmed. Both forms need the same core data.

Documents the bank asks for

The set depends on the payment form and on the bank, and each branch has its own checklist, so ask for it before you gather anything. As a working baseline, a Turkish bank usually expects the items below, as originals or clear scans:

• proforma or commercial invoice;
• sales contract or order confirmation;
• packing list;
• transport document (taşıma belgesi): CMR, bill of lading or air waybill;
• customs declaration (gümrük beyannamesi) for payment after delivery;
• short Turkish cover letter with tax number, goods and GTİP code.

Names, amounts, currency and goods description must be identical across all documents; the bank compares them line by line. A difference between the proforma and the invoice is the most frequent reason for a query. Fix any difference before submission.

Under Article 3(6) of the Circular the bank issues on request a letter or a Belge ID, created under Ministry of Trade arrangements, showing the payment details. It can help if customs or your accountant later ask how the invoice was settled.

Who pays, from what, and the SWIFT message

Article 9 of Decree No. 32 provides that transfers abroad for imports are made by banks. Article 3 of the Circular lists the sources: bank resources, the importer’s foreign-currency deposit account (DTH), a credit card, unmatched export proceeds and loans under the capital movement rules.

Your payment order becomes a SWIFT message that travels through one or more correspondent banks, so every field must be complete and consistent with the invoice. Typical fields on the bank form are listed below, although the labels differ between banks:

• ordering customer: your company name, address, account;
• beneficiary name, address, IBAN;
• beneficiary bank SWIFT/BIC;
• amount and currency;
• remittance information: invoice number, goods, contract;
• charges code OUR, SHA or BEN (who bears bank fees).

Article 24 of the MASAK Regulation on Measures requires sender and beneficiary data on electronic transfers above its threshold, and the bank verifies them. Abbreviated or inconsistent names lead to queries. Keep the payer name identical to the one on the invoice and the customs declaration.

Timing and what the bank may ask in addition

No statute fixes a processing time for an import transfer. In practice an order placed before the branch cut-off hour usually leaves the same working day, and the supplier sees the funds one to three working days later. Correspondent banks, time zones and holidays add time.

Banks may ask additional questions even when the file looks complete, because each bank applies its own risk policy and checks. The requests below come up most often, and none is an accusation; each is closed with a document:

• why the amount differs from the proforma;
• your relationship with the supplier (group company, shareholder);
• the contract or order behind an advance payment;
• why a company other than the importer is paying;
• clearer goods description or GTİP;
• translations of foreign documents.

Answer once, in writing, with documents. Screening of parties, goods and countries is done by your bank and its correspondents under their own policies, so make the goods, route and counterparties clear in the file. Do not split the amount to avoid questions.

Sources

• ms.hmb.gov.tr — Ministry of Treasury and Finance: Import Circular 2020/1 (Articles 1, 2, 3, 5: payment forms, sources, customs declaration, Belge ID)
• mevzuat.gov.tr — Decree No. 32 on the Protection of the Value of Turkish Currency, Article 9 (consolidated copy used: ms.hmb.gov.tr, as mevzuat.gov.tr blocks automated access)
• masak.hmb.gov.tr — MASAK: Regulation on Measures, Article 24 (sender and beneficiary data in electronic transfers)
• iccwbo.org — International Chamber of Commerce: Incoterms 2020 rules

Questions