Prácticas de pago seguras en el comercio de materias primas

Payment is where deals are won and lost

Most commodity disputes and frauds come down to money moving at the wrong moment. Safe payment is not a single trick. It is a habit of linking each payment to a verified event, using routes that banks recognise, and checking every instruction.

Tie payments to events

The shape depends on the product and the relationship. What matters is that the amount paid never greatly outruns what has been verified.

• Deposit on signing, small, to confirm commitment, against a signed contract and proof of the company.
• Next payment after an independent inspection confirms quantity and quality at loading.
• Balance against copies of shipping documents, or against original documents through banks.
• Final adjustment after weight or analysis at discharge, if the contract provides for it.

Use recognised instruments

A documentary letter of credit from a known bank, a documentary collection or a staged bank transfer are routes your bank understands and can explain. Be careful with arrangements that treat bank guarantees as items to be bought, leased or passed around. Ask your own bank to explain any instrument in writing before you rely on it.

Confirm bank details every time

• Take the account details from the signed contract, not from an email sent later.
• Call the other party on a number you already trust and read the details back.
• Check that the account holder is the contracting company and the account is in a country that makes sense for the deal.
• If the details change, treat it as a new verification. Changes of account are a classic fraud pattern, often through a hacked or imitated email address.
• Use a second person at your company to approve transfers above a limit.

Secure your communications

Payment fraud often begins with a compromised mailbox. Use strong, unique passwords and two-step sign-in on email, be careful with links and attachments, and look at the full sender address before acting. On Tonport, contact details stay hidden until identity is revealed, and messages stay inside the platform, so you have a record. Agree payment details in the contract and in a document both sides sign.

Fees and third parties

Pay fees only to identifiable providers for a defined service, against an invoice and ideally a contract of their own: an inspector, a laboratory, a forwarder, a lawyer. Be wary of requests to pay a third party the counterparty names, especially for something described as required to release a deal. If a payment goes to someone else, ask why, and get the reason in writing from the contracting party.

Currency and costs

Agree the currency, who pays the bank charges, and what happens if an exchange rate moves between invoice and payment. For letters of credit, agree who bears confirmation and negotiation charges. The P&L estimator includes bank fees and financing, and it helps to see them next to the margin.

Before every transfer

• Does this payment match a step in the contract?
• Has the condition for this step been verified by someone independent?
• Are the account details confirmed by phone?
• Has a second person checked the amount and the account?
• Do I have a record of the instruction and the confirmation?

If something looks wrong after a transfer

Contact your bank at once and ask whether the payment can be recalled. Time matters. Keep all messages and documents, and report the account to the platform and to the authorities in your country. Speed makes the difference between recovering funds and not.

Preguntas frecuentes

Is it safe to pay a deposit?

A small deposit against a signed contract and a verified counterparty is common. Avoid large payments before inspection or documents.

How can I check a change of bank account?

Call a trusted number for the other company, not the one in the email that announces the change, and ask for written confirmation signed by an authorised person.

Should I pay a personal account?

Be cautious. Payments should go to the contracting company. If a different account is proposed, ask for the reason in writing and verify it.

Does Tonport handle payments?

No. Tonport does not hold funds. Parties arrange payment between themselves and their own banks.