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How to pay a skincare manufacturer abroad safely

Deposits and milestones, how each payment method protects you (or does not), how to check that a Korean company is real, the scams to know, and what to do if something goes wrong.

Not legal or financial adviceThis guide explains common practice. For a contract or a dispute, talk to a lawyer; for a payment problem, call your bank first.

Short answer

Pay in milestones, never everything up front: a deposit when you order (often 30% to 50%) and the balance before shipment, and only after you have approved a pre-production sample. Use bank wire for production orders once you have verified the company, PayPal or a card for small fees where buyer protection helps, and a letter of credit or escrow for large or first-time orders with an unknown supplier. Check the company in its official business register, confirm bank details by phone or chat before every first payment, and never pay a changed account because an email told you to.

Deposits and milestone payments

A milestone payment is a part payment tied to a step you can check. It keeps both sides committed: the manufacturer buys raw materials and packaging with your deposit, and you keep the balance until the goods are made and checked.

Small fees first.
Samples, development fees and document fees are small amounts you pay before production. Paying them by PayPal or card keeps buyer protection where it is most useful: before you know the supplier well.
Approve the sample, then the deposit.
Never pay a production deposit before you have tested and approved a sample of the actual formula. The approved sample becomes the reference the production batch is checked against.
Deposit at order.
30% to 50% is common for contract manufacturing, because the maker buys ingredients and packaging for your run.
Balance before shipment.
You pay the rest once production and QC are done and you have the COA (certificate of analysis), photos or an inspection report, and the packing list.
Never full prepayment
for a production order before you approve a pre-production sample, from any supplier. A request for 100% up front from a new supplier is a warning sign.

KoreanOEM's termsA 50% deposit when you order and 50% before shipment, by bank wire in USD or KRW. Small fees, such as the sample box, can be paid by PayPal or card. We never ask for full prepayment before you approve a pre-production sample. Every price is FOB Incheon. Fees and what is credited are on the fees page.

Payment methods compared

Method	How it works	Fees in general terms	Buyer protection	Best for
Bank wire (SWIFT)	Your bank sends money to the supplier's bank, often through one or more correspondent banks	Sending fee, possible correspondent bank deductions, receiving fee, and the exchange rate margin	Almost none. A recall is possible only if the money has not been paid out	Production orders with a verified supplier
PayPal (goods and services)	Online payment to the supplier's PayPal business account	Charged to the seller, plus currency conversion if used	Purchase Protection for eligible goods and services payments; personal "friends and family" payments are not covered	Samples and small fees
Credit or debit card	Card payment through the supplier's payment provider	Charged to the seller; your bank may add a foreign transaction fee	A chargeback through your card issuer under card network rules, within time limits	Samples and small fees
Escrow	A third party holds your money and pays the supplier when you confirm delivery	A percentage of the transaction, often shared	Good, if the escrow service is real and licensed	First orders with a new supplier
Letter of credit (LC)	Your bank promises to pay the supplier when it presents documents that match the LC terms (under the ICC's UCP 600 rules)	Bank fees on both sides; documents take time to prepare and check	Strong on documents; banks check papers, not goods, so add an inspection certificate as a required document	Large orders, new relationships
Documentary collection	Banks release the shipping documents to you when you pay or accept a bill	Lower than an LC	Limited; the bank does not promise payment	Established partners
Platform trade protection	Payment through a B2B marketplace's own protection program	Set by the platform	Only for orders placed and paid on that platform	Orders started on that marketplace

Three practical notes on wires. Choose who pays the bank charges (the codes OUR, SHA and BEN on the transfer form) so the supplier receives the full invoice amount. Send the payment in the invoice currency to avoid a second conversion. And keep the SWIFT confirmation (often called an MT103), because it proves the payment if a supplier says it has not arrived.

On PayPal, the current Purchase Protection policy says a claim for an item not received must be opened within 180 days of payment, and a claim that an item is significantly not as described within 30 days of delivery or 180 days of payment, whichever comes first. Check the live policy for your country before you rely on it.

Verifying a Korean manufacturer

Korea makes it easy to check a company. Every business has a 10-digit business registration number (사업자등록번호) issued by the National Tax Service.

Check the number on Hometax.
On hometax.go.kr, the National Tax Service's site, the business status lookup (사업자등록상태조회 under 조회/발급) tells you whether a number is active, suspended or closed, and its tax type. It does not show the company name, so check that the same number appears on the supplier's website, invoice and contract. The page is in Korean; a browser translation works.
Check the corporate register.
For a Korean corporation (주식회사, Co., Ltd.), the Supreme Court's Internet Registry Office (iros.go.kr) issues the corporate register extract for a small fee: registered name, address, date of incorporation and directors. It is in Korean.
Use the trade bodies.
KITA (Korea International Trade Association) runs tradeKorea.com, and KOTRA, Korea's state trade and investment promotion organization, runs buyKOREA.org and offices abroad that help foreign buyers find and contact Korean sellers. A listing there is not a guarantee, but it is one more record that ties the company to a real address.
Ask for the GMP certificate.
For cosmetics, the usual quality standard is ISO 22716 (cosmetics good manufacturing practice). Check the certificate number with the certification body that issued it, or on IAF CertSearch for accredited certificates.
Talk on video.
A live video call with the team, the lab or the production line, at a time you choose, is hard to fake. Ask specific questions about your formula, minimums and lead times.
Visit if the order is large.
A visit to Korea lets you meet the team and see production in person; see visiting Korea.

Check us the same wayKoreanOEM is the Korean skincare OEM and private label manufacturer of Idenbrick Co., Ltd., Busan, business registration number 439-88-03275, which you can check on Hometax. Our formulation chemists in Busan develop every formula. Production runs in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi-do, at an ISO 22716 (cosmetics GMP) facility with our own staff on site. A full page of company facts and how to verify them is planned at is KoreanOEM legit.

Verifying any manufacturer

Official company register. Look the company up in its country's register (for example Companies House in the UK, a state business registry in the US, or the national register elsewhere). The legal name must match the name on the invoice and the bank account.
The bank account matches the company. The account holder on the invoice should be the company you signed with, in the country where it operates. A personal account or a company in a third country needs a very good written reason.
Certificates you can check. ISO 22716 or national GMP certificates, product documents (COA, SDS) on the supplier's letterhead with batch numbers that match.
A real track record. A website with a long history, consistent contact details, a physical address you can see on a map, and staff who answer technical questions.
Small first step. Buy samples first. How a supplier handles a small order tells you how it will handle a big one.

The full list of questions to ask before you choose a maker is in questions to ask a skincare manufacturer.

Supplier scam patterns

Pattern	What it looks like	What to do
Bank detail change email	An email that looks like your supplier says the bank account has changed, often with urgency ("audit", "tax", "pay today")	Do not pay. Confirm through a contact you already have (a known phone number or live chat), never by replying to that email
Lookalike domain	The sender's address differs by one letter or uses a different ending	Check the full address; save the real one in your contacts
Fake factory	Stock photos, an address that is a flat or an office center, no registration number	Check the register, ask for a live video walk-through
Price far below the market	A quote well under every other quote, with no clear reason	Ask what is included: formula, container, label, tests, documents, freight terms
Pressure	"The price is only valid today", "pay now to keep your slot"	Slow down; a real manufacturer gives a written quote with a validity period
Full prepayment	100% before production, before a sample	Refuse; use milestones
Odd payment routes	Personal accounts, a third-country company, crypto, gift cards, PayPal friends and family	Refuse; PayPal itself warns that a seller asking for a friends and family payment for goods may be a scammer
Fake escrow	The supplier insists on an escrow site you have never heard of	Choose the escrow service yourself and check it is licensed
Sample switch	Excellent samples, then a different product in production	Keep approved samples, put the spec in the contract, inspect before the balance

Business email compromise, where criminals hijack or imitate a supplier's email to redirect payments, is among the most damaging online frauds the FBI reports on. The defense is simple and works: verify every new or changed bank detail through a second channel before you pay.

Contracts and pre-shipment inspection

Put the deal in writing before the deposit. A purchase order that refers to the written quote is the minimum; for larger or longer relationships, a manufacturing or supply agreement. Include:

The product: formula reference, approved sample, container, label artwork version, fill volume and tolerances.
Quality terms: what counts as a defect (leaks, short fill, label errors, color or scent outside the approved sample), the sampling plan for inspection, and the remedy (remake, credit or refund).
Payment: the milestones, the currency, who pays bank charges, and the bank details, with a clause that bank details change only by signed letter confirmed by phone.
Delivery: the Incoterm (for example FOB Incheon) and the expected ship date; see Incoterms, LCL vs FCL and customs brokers.
Documents: COA per batch, SDS, specification, Certificate of Origin, packing list and commercial invoice.
Ownership and confidentiality: who owns the formula, artwork and molds, and an NDA; see formula ownership, NDAs and exclusivity.
Disputes: governing law and where disputes go. For Korean suppliers, the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board (KCAB), Korea's main commercial arbitration institution, is one option to name.

Pre-shipment inspection is a check of finished goods before you pay the balance. A third-party inspection company or your own person counts cartons and units, checks labels, batch codes, fill levels, leaks and packing against your spec, and samples units using an AQL (acceptable quality limit) table, usually based on ISO 2859-1. Ask your manufacturer whether an inspector can visit before shipment and agree in writing who pays. Keep the inspection report with the COA; together they are your evidence if a problem appears later.

What to do if something goes wrong

You paid a wrong or fake account.
Call your bank at once and ask it to recall the wire and contact the receiving bank. Hours matter. Report the fraud to the police and, in the US, to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3); in the UK, to Action Fraud. Keep every email with full headers.
Goods arrived damaged or wrong.
Photograph cartons and units before you unpack further, note batch numbers, and notify the supplier and your forwarder in writing within the time your contract or insurance sets. File a cargo insurance claim if damage happened in transit.
A quality defect.
Compare against the approved sample and spec, send photos, batch numbers and test results, and ask for the agreed remedy. Most problems are solved here.
A PayPal or card payment.
Open a dispute through PayPal or your card issuer within the time limit. Keep the order, delivery and messages.
No agreement.
Use the dispute route in your contract: mediation, then arbitration or court. For a Korean counterparty, KCAB handles commercial arbitration and mediation.

Common mistakes

Paying a production deposit before testing and approving a sample.
Paying 100% up front to a new supplier because the price looked good.
Changing bank details because of an email, without calling or chatting to confirm.
Sending a wire for small sample fees, where PayPal or a card would have given buyer protection.
Using PayPal friends and family for a business purchase, which removes Purchase Protection.
Relying on a letter of credit alone, without an inspection certificate, when banks only check documents.
Skipping a written contract or purchase order with the spec and quality terms.
Checking only the business registration number, not that the name on the invoice and bank account matches it.

Checklist

Business registration checked in the official register (Hometax for Korea)
Legal name matches the website, invoice, contract and bank account
GMP or ISO 22716 certificate checked with the issuing body
Live video call held with the team
Samples paid by PayPal or card and approved in writing
Written quote and purchase order or supply agreement with spec and quality terms
Payment milestones agreed: deposit, balance before shipment
Bank details confirmed through a second channel before the first payment
SWIFT confirmation saved for every wire
Pre-shipment checks agreed: COA, photos or third-party inspection
Cargo insurance arranged for the shipment
Dispute route and governing law written in the contract

How KoreanOEM helps

We set our terms so that you never carry all the risk.

50% deposit, 50% before shipment, by bank wire in USD or KRW, and never full prepayment before you approve a pre-production sample.
PayPal or card for small fees such as the sample box, which is credited in full against your first production order.
A company you can check: Idenbrick Co., Ltd., business registration number 439-88-03275 on Hometax, ISO 22716 production in Pyeongtaek, FDA registered facility.
Everything in one place: order status, sample tracking, NDA, documents and payments in My page, and live chat 24/7 if anything looks unusual, including a payment request you want to confirm.
Batch documents included: COA and microbiology results for every batch, SDS and specification.

Get a free quote About us

Frequently asked questions

What are normal payment terms with a skincare manufacturer?

A deposit at order, often 30% to 50%, and the balance before shipment is common for contract manufacturing. KoreanOEM takes 50% at order and 50% before shipment by bank wire in USD or KRW, and never full prepayment before you approve a pre-production sample.

Is it safe to pay a manufacturer by bank wire?

It is the normal way to pay for production, and it is safe once you have verified the company and confirmed the bank details through a second channel. A wire has almost no buyer protection, so use PayPal or a card for small fees and never wire money to an account you only learned about by email.

Does PayPal protect business purchases from suppliers?

PayPal Purchase Protection covers eligible goods and services payments, not personal friends and family payments. Under the current policy, a claim for an item not received must be opened within 180 days of payment, so it suits samples and small fees better than large production orders.

How do I check that a Korean company is real?

Look up its 10-digit business registration number on the National Tax Service's Hometax site, which shows whether it is active, and check that the same number and legal name appear on the website, invoice and bank account. For a corporation, the Internet Registry Office (iros.go.kr) issues the corporate register extract.

When should I use a letter of credit?

A letter of credit suits large orders and new relationships, because your bank pays only when the supplier presents documents that match the terms under the ICC's UCP 600 rules. Banks check documents, not goods, so require an inspection certificate among the documents.

What is the most common supplier payment scam?

A fake email that looks like it comes from your supplier and says the bank account has changed. Never pay a new account because of an email; confirm through a phone number or chat you already use, and call your bank at once if you have already paid.

Should I get a pre-shipment inspection?

For larger orders, yes. An inspector checks counts, labels, batch codes, fill levels and leaks against your spec using an AQL sampling table before you pay the balance, and the report backs any claim later.

What can I do if I paid a fraudulent account?

Call your bank immediately and ask it to recall the wire and contact the receiving bank, because speed decides whether money can be stopped. Then report it to the police and, in the US, to the FBI's IC3, or in the UK to Action Fraud.

Sources

Checked against these sources in October 2026. Rules and fees change; check with the authority or your importer before you sell.