Buying wholesale
What Payment Methods Do Wholesale Food Suppliers Accept?
Wholesale food suppliers in Canada most commonly accept electronic funds transfer (EFT) or e-transfer, cheque, and sometimes credit card, though card is less universal at wholesale volumes because of processing fees on larger totals. Credit terms — paying after delivery rather than at the time of order — are typically extended once a buyer has an order history, not offered automatically on a first purchase. At Levant Direct, the specific method for your order is agreed as part of your quotation, not assumed from a fixed list.
The payment methods most common in wholesale food trade
EFT and e-transfer are the default for most B2B food orders in Canada — fast to confirm, and free of the percentage fee that card processing adds. Cheque remains common, especially with longer-standing accounts. Credit card is accepted by many suppliers but less often used at wholesale volumes, since a processing surcharge on a full-pallet order adds up in a way it doesn't on a retail-sized purchase. None of these is the 'right' answer across the board — what a given supplier accepts, and what a given buyer prefers, both factor in. Larger or recurring buyers sometimes settle on a single preferred method for every order simply to keep their own bookkeeping consistent, which is a reasonable thing to request once you know how you'll be ordering.
Deposits on first orders
It's common practice for a first-time wholesale order, particularly a larger one or one tied to a private label run, to be settled upfront or with a deposit before goods move — this protects both sides while there's no order history to draw on yet. That's a norm across the trade generally, not a fixed rule at every supplier; whether it applies to your order, and on what terms, is something to raise directly rather than assume.
When do credit terms like net-30 begin?
See do food suppliers offer net-30 payment terms? for the fuller picture — in short, trade credit is usually something a supplier extends after a buyer has placed and paid for a few orders, not something available from day one. It rewards a track record rather than being withheld arbitrarily, and it's worth raising once you have a couple of confirmed orders behind you.
How payment works when you order through Levant Direct
We don't publish one fixed payment policy across every account — see payment terms for wholesale buyers for how net terms are handled generally. Method and timing for spices, canned goods or any other order are confirmed alongside pricing and delivery on your written quotation, and it's entirely reasonable to raise your preferred method in your very first inquiry. That way, by the time your quotation comes back, payment logistics are already settled alongside pricing and lead time, rather than needing a separate round of back-and-forth once you're ready to confirm.
Related questions
Do you need to pay before goods ship?
That depends on the order and the account's history rather than a blanket rule — some first orders are settled upfront, and it's confirmed with your quotation rather than assumed either way.
Is a deposit the same as a down payment on price?
A deposit secures the order and doesn't change the total price — it's simply part of the same total paid earlier, distinct from any pricing tier or volume discount.