Supplier verification in Turkey: what to check before payment

A polished website and a sharp quotation tell you a supplier knows how to sell. They don't tell you who you are paying. Before the first transfer to a new Turkish supplier, you want three things pinned down: the legal entity you are contracting with, the people behind it, and the evidence behind its commercial claims.

None of this assumes bad intent. The point is to swap assumptions for facts while you still can, because the first payment is when your leverage is highest and, very often, your information thinnest.

What follows is the order we work through when we review a supplier. Every step ends in a confirmed fact, a documented discrepancy or an open question. All three are useful.

Why the moment before payment mattersSupplier problems are far easier to prevent than to fix. Once a deposit has gone, you depend on the supplier's cooperation, timelines drift, and recovering money across borders is slow and uncertain. Before you pay, you can still ask for documents, speak with whoever runs production, or pause the order at no cost.

Serious suppliers are used to buyers asking for registration details and references. Clear, consistent answers are a good sign. A supplier who sidesteps basic questions is telling you something too.

Step 1: Pin down the exact contracting entityStart with the name that will go on the contract and the invoice. Ask, in writing, for the full legal name, the registered address and the tax identification number. In Turkey, companies are registered with the trade registry and carry a tax identification number. Brand names, trading names and website names often differ from the legal name, so don't rely on the logo or the domain.

Then compare. The quotation, the proforma invoice, the company profile and the email signature should all point to the same entity, and the name on the bank details should match the name on the contract. While you are at it, work out whether you are dealing with the manufacturer itself, a trading company or an agent. Each can be perfectly legitimate. Each carries different risks.

Discrepancies are common and not automatically a red flag. A group may invoice through a sister company. What matters is that the arrangement is explained before you pay, not discovered afterwards.

Step 2: Confirm the company exists and is activeOfficial registration records show whether a company exists, when it was established, what its registered activity is, and whether announcements such as changes of address, capital or management have been published. A recent registration is not a problem on its own. It just has to fit the story. A company describing twenty years of manufacturing history shouldn't have been registered last year without a clear explanation, such as a restructuring or a new legal entity for an established business.

Check, too, that the registered activity fits what you are buying. A company registered for general trade may supply your product through partners, which changes who actually controls quality and delivery.

Step 3: Find out who is behind the businessAsk who owns the company, who can sign for it, and who will be responsible for your order. Then make sure the person signing your contract is actually entitled to sign for the company. In practice that means comparing the signatory against the company's published authorisations, and asking for evidence where the information isn't public.

Look past the signature as well. Who will manage production, quality and shipping on your order? Does the person negotiating with you work for the contracting entity? Are the same individuals connected to other companies in the same sector? That can help the picture or complicate it. Either way, you want to know.

Step 4: Check the payment details carefullyPayment fraud often has nothing to do with the supplier's genuine business. Email accounts get compromised, and bank details get changed in the middle of a perfectly legitimate conversation. Treat any change of bank details, any request to pay a different entity and any pressure to pay urgently as a reason to slow down.

* Confirm that the beneficiary name on the bank account matches the contracting entity.

* Verify any new or changed bank details through a separate channel, such as a phone call to a number you already hold, never one provided in the same email.

* Be cautious with requests to pay a personal account or an entity in a third country.

* Keep a written record of who confirmed the payment details, and when.

Step 5: Separate facts from claimsEvery supplier presents itself at its best: capacity figures, certifications, client lists, factory photographs. Some of that can be checked independently. Some can only be corroborated with more evidence. Label each statement so your decision rests on what is known, not what was said.

Record which records were independently checked, by whom and on what date. Capacity and experience statements stay labelled as supplier claims until something corroborates them. Ask for certificates in full, with the certificate number and issuing body, and check them with the issuer where possible. Then keep two lists: one for evidence, one for open questions.

Step 6: Test the capacity storyThis is where a lot of orders go wrong. A supplier can be capable of making your product and still miss the volume, quality or time frame you need. Ask how your order fits their current workload, which steps they subcontract, and what happens if a key machine or subcontractor is unavailable.

Photographs and videos help only when you know when and where they were taken. Recent, specific evidence beats a polished presentation.

Step 7: Read the documents, not just the headlinesThe details that matter most sit in the quotation, proforma invoice and draft contract: incoterms, payment milestones, inspection rights, delivery dates and the consequences of missing them. Make sure the documents agree with each other and with what was said. If one is missing, record it as a limitation rather than filling the gap with an assumption.

Red flags that deserve a pause* Bank details that change during the conversation, or a beneficiary that differs from the contracting entity.

* Reluctance to share basic registration information.

* Pressure to pay quickly to secure a price or a production slot.

* Prices far below comparable offers without a clear explanation.

* Inconsistent company names, addresses or contact people across documents.

* Certificates that cannot be matched to the issuing body.

None of these proves wrongdoing by itself. Each one is a reason to ask a precise question and wait for a documented answer before you pay.

Match the depth of review to the decisionA small trial order and a multi-year supply agreement carry very different risks, so they shouldn't get the same review. EnterTurkey offers three fixed-scope reviews so the work fits the decision:

* Lite confirms registered identity and status, ownership, and the identity and authority of the supplier's representative, within 24 working hours (one working day). No address visit, facility entry or capacity assessment.

* Pro adds official-source research, an exterior address check with dated photographs and sector expert interpretation, within 48 working hours (two working days). No facility interior or capacity assessment.

* Enterprise adds an agreed visit inside the facility, with supplier notice and a confirmed appointment, and a scoped production capacity review. You receive a report and an executive presentation within a maximum of 120 working hours (five working days).

Working hours exclude weekends and Turkish public holidays. For Lite and Pro, the supplier is not told who ordered the review. Bank-detail checks are not part of any package; they stay with you, as in Step 4.

What a good verification report gives youA verification report supports a commercial decision. It should say what is known, what is uncertain and what needs answering before payment, keep independent evidence apart from what the company supplied, state its limitations, and end with next steps. That is the standard we hold our own reports to.

We started EnterTurkey for one simple reason: to help buyers make sure their money reaches the right company, for the right goods. Every check in this article is there to protect a payment before it leaves your account.

About to pay a new supplier in Turkey? Start with the contracting entity, confirm the payment details, and make sure every important claim is evidenced or on your open-question list. For an independent review before you commit, you can request one from EnterTurkey.