Reminder – Accounts Payable Payments to Foreign Individuals or Entities

If you need to pay a foreign payee (individual or entity) through Accounts Payable, here’s how to avoid many payment delays and financial hardships to payees abroad:

• Confirm payment delivery method with suppliers prior to processing payments. Many countries no longer accept paper checks, where an alternate means of payment is required.
• Review invoices details for any required payment delivery method (i.e., “must be processed by bank wire transfer”, etc.) prior to processing payment.
• Expect that international mail, especially now, remains unreliable in reaching many international locations.
• If the payee has a U.S. bank account, a Harvard issued check can be deposited into their account using their U.S. bank’s “mobile check deposit” service, even if they are not physically in the U.S.
• Review the Escheat Due Diligence Report for any non-payroll checks and take action where necessary to ensure checks are cashed in a timely manner, ideally before the calendar year closes. Visit the HART Wiki for details on how to run the Escheat Due Dilligence Report.
• Process check redeposits in the same calendar year that the original payment was originally issued. Redepositing/canceling checks issued in a prior calendar year can have significant tax compliance and annual reporting implications for the payee and Harvard.