Paying a Supplier Abroad for the First Time

A supplier in another country invoiced us and asked whether we could pay in a stablecoin. I said I would find out, which turned into a useful afternoon. For anyone in the same position, a crypto swap platform sets out the same terms without requiring an account.

What I checked first

Whether they were asking for payment to a business account or a personal wallet.

It matters. Paying a company to an address that belongs to an individual creates a documentation problem for both sides, and it is the shape a lot of fraud takes.

They supplied an address belonging to an exchange account in the company’s name, which is the right answer.

What I confirmed with them

The network, in full. Not the asset name.

And the exact amount, with an explicit agreement about who pays the network fee.

Both by voice, to a number we already had, not by replying to the email.

Why by voice

Because the most common fraud against companies is a compromised mailbox sending a genuine invoice with one field changed. Past a certain amount the answer stops being a wallet and becomes a fintech payment gateway.

Everything else about the invoice was real. The address is the only field nobody memorises, and it is the only one that matters.

One phone call removes the entire category.

The test payment

Small amount first, confirmed with them that it arrived, then the rest.

That cost about a dollar and it is the habit I would keep even if nothing else changed.

What it cost in total

Roughly a dollar in network fees, plus a small conversion margin because we did not hold stablecoin and had to acquire some.

The bank transfer would have cost about fifty euros between the two sides, plus a currency margin, and arrived in four days.

What I set up afterwards

Registered their address in our wallet with the network recorded alongside, so future payments go to a registered pair and cannot be sent to a new destination without approval and a delay.

That is the control that turns this from something requiring care each time into something routine.

The thing I would not do

Pay from a personal wallet because it is faster. The payment has to come from the company and be documented as such, and the shortcut creates a problem for the accountant later. The thing I did not think about until it mattered was whether a provider you can actually reach exists. It is worth checking early.