Bank Transfer Payment for Flower Delivery: Timing, Details and What to Prepare
Every week someone calls the shop and asks the same thing: can they pay without using a card online? Sometimes it is a corporate client who needs an invoice. Sometimes it is a customer outside Russia whose foreign card keeps getting declined at checkout. Sometimes it is simply a matter of preference — a person who does not trust entering card numbers on websites they have not used before. The answer is yes, Five Flowers accepts bank transfer payments, and this article walks through exactly how that works, what information you need to have ready, and what can go wrong if you leave the transfer too late.
Why Customers Ask About Bank Transfer in the First Place
The question comes up more often than the shop expected when it first set up the payment options. The most common situation is a customer living outside Russia who wants to send flowers to someone in Saint Petersburg or another Russian city. Their Visa or Mastercard is issued by a foreign bank, and since 2022 many international cards simply do not process on Russian merchant terminals. The payment page returns an error, the customer tries twice, and then they call or write to ask what else is possible. Bank transfer is the cleanest solution for that group because the money moves between accounts directly, without needing a card network to authorise anything in real time. A second group is small businesses and individual entrepreneurs in Russia who need a proper accounting document — a formal invoice they can record as a business expense. Russian accounting rules require a specific document chain, and a card payment through a personal account does not always satisfy that requirement. Paying by bank transfer against an issued invoice keeps the paperwork clean. A third group is customers who simply feel more comfortable moving money from their online banking app than entering card details on a website. All three groups are welcome, and the process is the same for each of them. The shop issues the payment details, the customer transfers the amount, and the order goes into the preparation queue once the funds are confirmed.
Bouquets we can deliver
What Payment Details You Will Receive and What They Mean
When you request a bank transfer, the shop sends you a set of Russian banking details. If you have not dealt with Russian bank accounts before, the format looks unfamiliar, so it is worth knowing what each field means. The most important number is the account number, which in Russia is always twenty digits long. Alongside it you will see the BIK — a nine-digit bank identification code that tells the sending bank exactly which Russian bank holds the receiving account. You will also see the INN, which is the Russian tax identification number of the business, and the KPP, a secondary registration code. For customers sending money from a Russian bank, all of these fields simply paste into the transfer form in your online banking. For customers sending from outside Russia, the process goes through SWIFT, and you will additionally need the SWIFT code of the receiving bank, the full legal name of the company in Russian, and the bank's correspondent account number. Do not leave out any of these fields on an international transfer — missing details cause the payment to sit in a holding queue at the correspondent bank, sometimes for several business days, and that delay directly affects when the flowers can be sent. Ask the shop to confirm which fields are required for your specific country of origin before you initiate the transfer, because requirements vary slightly depending on where the sending bank is located.
How Timing Works When You Pay by Transfer Instead of Card
This is the part where customers most often make a mistake. When you pay by card on the website, the authorisation happens in seconds and the order moves to the florists immediately. Bank transfers do not work that way. A domestic Russian transfer between accounts at different banks typically clears within a few hours on a business day, but it can take until the next business day if the transfer is initiated late in the afternoon. The Russian interbank settlement system, known as the Bank of Russia payment system, processes transfers in batches, and the cut-off times vary by bank. An international SWIFT transfer is a different matter entirely: two to five business days is a realistic expectation, and that is before any currency conversion delays. This means that if you want flowers delivered on a specific date, you need to initiate the transfer well in advance of that date. For domestic transfers, initiating by midday on the day before the required delivery date is a reasonable minimum. For international transfers, a week in advance is safer. The shop holds your order in a provisional status once you have confirmed the transfer and sent a payment receipt, but it cannot begin cutting and arranging flowers until the funds actually arrive. Roses, spray chrysanthemums and alstroemeria can be kept in cold storage at two to four degrees Celsius for a short period without quality loss, but the shop will not hold a completed bouquet for more than a few hours waiting for a payment that has not cleared.
Sending Confirmation and What Happens Next
Once you have made the transfer, do not wait for the shop to find the payment on its own — send a confirmation immediately. The fastest way is to forward a screenshot or PDF of the bank receipt to the shop's contact number via messenger or to the order email address. The receipt should show the date, the amount, the sender's account and the reference number assigned by your bank. In Russian banking this document is called a platezhnoe poruchenie, and if you are transferring from a Russian bank your online banking will generate it automatically. If you are transferring from abroad, your bank's transfer confirmation email serves the same purpose. When the shop receives this confirmation, the order moves from provisional to active status, and the florists begin sourcing the flowers. If your bouquet includes varieties that require advance ordering — David Austin garden roses, for example, or large-headed peonies outside their natural season — the shop will let you know at this stage whether the timing still works. Flowers like standard roses, carnations, and seasonal tulips are usually available from cold storage the same day. Less common varieties such as protea, anthurium, or lisianthus may need to be brought in, and that takes additional lead time. Sending your payment confirmation promptly, rather than assuming the shop will spot the transfer automatically, is the single most effective thing you can do to keep the delivery on schedule.
Corporate Orders and Invoices: How the Process Differs
For business customers, the bank transfer process includes one additional step that private customers do not need: the formal invoice. In Russia, a business purchasing flowers for an office event, a client gift, or a company celebration typically needs a document called a schet on oplatu — literally, an invoice for payment — before the accounting department will release funds. The shop can prepare this document when you place a corporate order. To issue the invoice correctly, the shop needs your company's full legal name as registered with the Russian tax authority, your INN and KPP numbers, your legal address, and the name of the person authorised to sign on behalf of the company if a signed acceptance document is also required. Once those details are provided, the shop prepares the invoice and sends it in PDF format. Your accounting team then processes the transfer against that invoice number. After delivery, the shop can also provide a closing document — an act of completed services — which is required for some types of business accounting in Russia. This whole document chain is standard practice for B2B transactions in Russia, and the shop is accustomed to handling it. The lead time for corporate flower orders should account for both the invoice preparation time and the bank transfer clearing time, so reaching out two to three business days before the required delivery date is strongly recommended for any order going through the full corporate document process.
Common Mistakes That Delay or Block a Transfer Payment
The shop sees the same problems come up repeatedly, and most of them are avoidable. The first is a wrong account number. Russian account numbers are twenty digits and a single transposed digit sends the money to a different account entirely. Always copy and paste the number rather than typing it manually, and double-check it against the original details the shop sent before confirming the transfer. The second common mistake is omitting the payment reference. When you transfer money, there is usually a field for a comment or reference — use it to write your order number or your name and the recipient's name. Without a reference, the shop's accounting team has to match the incoming payment to your order manually, which adds time. The third mistake is underestimating currency conversion time on international transfers. If you are sending euros or dollars that need to be converted to rubles before they reach the shop's account, the conversion adds at least one extra business day and sometimes more depending on the correspondent banks involved. The fourth mistake is initiating the transfer on a Friday afternoon expecting same-day or next-day delivery. Russian banks do not process interbank transfers over weekends, and the payment will not clear until Monday at the earliest. If you need weekend delivery, the transfer must clear before the end of business on Friday, which in practice means initiating it by Thursday at the latest. Finally, some customers forget to send the payment receipt and then are surprised when the order does not move forward — the receipt is not optional, it is what activates the order.
Checking Your Order Status After a Bank Transfer Payment
After you have sent the transfer and forwarded the receipt, you should receive a confirmation from the shop that the order is active. If you do not hear back within a few hours during business hours, follow up — do not assume everything is moving smoothly without confirmation. The shop can check the incoming payment status from its banking interface and tell you whether the funds have arrived or are still in transit. For domestic Russian transfers, if you initiated the transfer in the morning and have not received confirmation by early afternoon, it is worth calling to check. For international transfers, the shop can sometimes see that a payment is incoming before it fully clears, which allows the order preparation to begin a little earlier in straightforward cases, though this depends on the sending bank's notification practices. When the flowers are ready and out for delivery, you will receive a notification with the estimated arrival window. The shop delivers within one to two hours of dispatch across Saint Petersburg, and for deliveries to other Russian cities the timing depends on the destination. If the bouquet contains temperature-sensitive varieties — garden roses, ranunculus, or sweet peas — the delivery packaging includes appropriate insulation for the season, but you should let the recipient know to unpack and place the flowers in water as soon as they arrive rather than leaving them in the box. Checking in proactively after your transfer, rather than waiting passively, keeps everything moving on schedule.
Bank transfer is a fully supported payment method at Five Flowers, and for customers who cannot use a card or need proper accounting documents it is often the most practical option. The key variables are lead time and communication: the earlier you initiate the transfer and the faster you send the receipt, the more smoothly the order runs. Domestic transfers clear quickly enough for next-day delivery if timed correctly. International transfers need a week of buffer. Corporate orders need the invoice details upfront. Get those three things right and the flowers arrive exactly when they should. We deliver bouquets across Russia in 1–2 hours.
Frequently asked questions
Can I pay by bank transfer if I am ordering from outside Russia?
Yes. You will need the shop's SWIFT code, full legal name, account number, and correspondent account details. International transfers typically take two to five business days to clear, so plan well ahead of your required delivery date. Send your payment receipt as soon as the transfer is initiated so the shop can begin preparing the order.
Does the shop accept payment in foreign currency by bank transfer?
The shop's account is denominated in Russian rubles. If you send a transfer in euros or dollars from a foreign bank, your bank or the correspondent bank will convert the amount to rubles before it reaches the shop. This conversion adds time and may involve fees on your bank's side, so check with your bank before initiating.
How quickly does a domestic Russian bank transfer clear?
Between Russian banks on a business day, transfers typically clear within a few hours, but the exact timing depends on your bank's cut-off schedule. To be safe for same-day order activation, initiate the transfer before noon. Transfers sent late in the afternoon may not clear until the following business day.
What documents can the shop provide for a corporate flower order?
The shop can issue a formal invoice before payment and a closing act of completed services after delivery. To prepare these documents, provide your company's full legal name, INN, KPP, and legal address. Allow two to three business days of lead time for corporate orders to cover both document preparation and bank transfer clearing.
What happens if my transfer is delayed and the flowers are already prepared?
Cut flowers are held in cold storage at two to four degrees Celsius, which preserves most varieties for a short period without quality loss. However, the shop will not hold a completed bouquet indefinitely. If a significant delay occurs, contact the shop immediately so the florists can adjust the preparation schedule and avoid waste.
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