How to verify an international supplier

1. Confirm the legal entity, not the brand

A trading name is not a company. Ask for the registration certificate and confirm the registered number in the issuing country's public register. The company on the invoice, the company on the contract and the company on the bank account must be the same legal entity.

• Certificate of incorporation or commercial registration
• Registered address and registration number you can look up
• Legal representative or authorised signatory named in writing

2. Check trade authorisation, not just existence

A registered company may still not be licensed to export the goods you are buying. Confirm the import/export licence and any product-specific approvals (food, pharmaceutical, chemical, dual-use).

3. Ask for evidence of production capacity

Distinguish a manufacturer from a trading company. Neither is disqualifying, but the price, lead time and quality control conversation is different for each.

• Factory photos or a live video walk-through with today's date visible
• Production capacity per month and current lead time
• Quality certificates (ISO, CE, FDA, SASO) with certificate numbers you can verify with the issuing body

4. Verify banking consistency

The most common cross-border loss is a redirected payment. Beneficiary name must match the contracting entity exactly, and the bank must be in the country of registration unless there is a documented reason. Treat any last-minute change of bank details as an incident, not an inconvenience: confirm it by voice on a number you already had.

5. Take references and a small first order

Ask for two buyers in your region and contact them independently. Where the relationship is new, structure the first order so exposure is limited and inspection happens before final payment.

What verification means on TradeGat

TradeGat records verification as an evidence-backed result with a named source and a review date, at separate levels — identity, trade licence, production and banking — so you can see exactly which checks are complete. Trust Scores are computed from verified evidence and platform behaviour. Verification and Trust Scores cannot be purchased, and advertising never affects them.