How to Check a USDT Transfer on Tronscan and BscScan

Somebody tells you they've sent the USDT. Your balance hasn't moved yet. Before you start refreshing the app every ten seconds, there's a calmer way to find out what's going on: look the transfer up yourself on a blockchain explorer.

An explorer is a free public website that shows every transaction on a blockchain. For USDT on TRON (TRC20) it's Tronscan. For USDT on BNB Smart Chain (BEP20) it's BscScan. You don't need an account, and nothing you do there can move your money.

What you need before you start

Just one thing: the transaction ID, often called the TXID or transaction hash. It's a long string of letters and numbers that the sending app creates for every transfer.

• If you sent the USDT, find it in your exchange's withdrawal history or your wallet's activity list. Tap the transfer and look for "TXID", "Hash" or "Transaction ID".
• If someone sent it to you, ask them for it. A genuine sender can copy it in seconds. Someone who keeps sending screenshots instead of the TXID is a warning sign.

If you can't get the TXID, you can also search by the receiving address. The explorer will list recent transfers into that address.

Checking a TRC20 transfer on Tronscan

1. Go to tronscan.org and type the address yourself rather than clicking a link someone sent you.
2. Paste the TXID into the search box at the top and press search.
3. The transaction page opens. Read the four things below.

Checking a BEP20 transfer on BscScan

1. Go to bscscan.com, again typed by hand.
2. Paste the TXID into the search box.
3. On the transaction page, look at the "Status" line and the "ERC-20 Tokens Transferred" section. (BscScan borrows the name of Ethereum's token standard, so don't be put off by "ERC-20" appearing on a BNB Smart Chain page.)

The four things to check

1. Status. You want "Success" on BscScan, or "Confirmed" or "Success" on Tronscan. "Pending" means it's still waiting for the network. "Failed" means it didn't go through, and the USDT never left the sender's wallet, though the network may still have charged them a fee.

2. The token. This is where fake USDT gets caught. The token should be Tether USD (USDT) with a verified badge, and its contract should be the official one:

Network	Official USDT contract
TRON (TRC20)	TR7NHqjeKQxGTCi8q8ZY4pL8otSzgjLj6t
BNB Smart Chain (BEP20)	0x55d398326f99059fF775485246999027B3197955

Click the token name on the transaction page and compare the contract address. A token that merely calls itself "USDT" but has a different contract is worthless. Our post on the flash USDT scam explains how that trick works.

3. The amount. Check the number of USDT moved. On TRON, small amounts of TRX sometimes move in the same transaction to pay fees; you're looking at the USDT line.

4. The 'To' address. Compare it with the address you gave the sender, character by character at the start and the end. If it doesn't match, the USDT went somewhere else, and only the owner of that address can move it.

Reading what you find

Everything matches and it's confirmed. The USDT has reached that address. If it's your KWIQ deposit address, the deposit will show in your wallet once KWIQ credits it. If your balance still hasn't changed after a while, contact support in the app and include the TXID: it lets them find your deposit straight away. Our walk-through of what happens after you send crypto to KWIQ shows each step.

It's pending. The network hasn't finished. TRON and BNB Smart Chain are usually quick, so a long wait often means the sending exchange hasn't actually broadcast the transfer yet. Check the exchange's withdrawal status.

It failed. The sender needs to try again. On TRON, a common cause is running out of TRX or energy to pay the fee; see why you need TRX or BNB to send USDT.

The network is wrong. If the TXID shows up on BscScan but you gave a TRON address (or the other way round), the sender used the wrong network. Read what to do if crypto was sent on the wrong network before anyone sends anything else.

Nothing comes up at all. Make sure you're on the right explorer for the network, and that the TXID was copied in full. If it still finds nothing, the transfer may never have been sent.

A habit worth building

Before you hand over goods, release a card code or mark an invoice as paid, open the explorer and check the transfer yourself. It takes a minute. It protects you from fake screenshots, fake tokens and "I've sent it, check again" pressure.

When the USDT is in your KWIQ wallet, you can sell it for naira with zero conversion fees and withdraw to any Nigerian bank. See today's USDT to naira rate, or read more about the differences between TRC20, BEP20 and ERC20.

If you don't have a deposit address yet, download the KWIQ app: your USDT deposit address, with its network, is in the app's USDT wallet. Short on phone storage? You can create an account on the web instead.