Summary
A payment is the voluntary tender of money or its equivalent or of things of value by one party (such as a person or company) to another in exchange for goods or services provided by them, or to fulfill a legal obligation/philanthropy desire. The party making the payment is commonly called the payer, while the payee is the party receiving the payment. Payments can be effected in a number of ways, for example: the use of money, cheque, or debit, credit, or bank transfers, whether through mobile payment or otherwise the transfer of anything of value, such as stock, or using barter, or personal data, the exchange of one good or service for another. In general, payees are at liberty to determine what method of payment they will accept; though normally laws require the payer to accept the country's legal tender up to a prescribed limit. Payment is most commonly effected in the local currency of the payee unless the parties agree otherwise. Payment in another currency involves an additional foreign exchange transaction. The payee may compromise on a debt, i.e., accept part payment in full settlement of a debtor's obligation, or may offer a discount, E.G: For payment in cash, or for prompt payment, etc. On the other hand, the payee may impose a surcharge, for example, as a late payment fee, or for use of a certain credit card, etc. Payments are frequently preceded by an invoice or bill, which follows the supply of goods or services, but in some industries (such as travel and hotels) it is not uncommon for pre-payments to be required before the service is performed or provided. In some industries, a deposit may be required before services are performed, which acts as a part pre-payment or as security to the service provider. In some cases, progress payments are made in advance, and in some cases part payments are accepted, which do not extinguish the payer’s legal obligations. The acceptance of a payment by the payee extinguishes a debt or other obligation.
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Related concepts (8)
Money
Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are as a medium of exchange, a unit of account, a store of value and sometimes, a standard of deferred payment. Money was historically an emergent market phenomenon that possessed intrinsic value as a commodity; nearly all contemporary money systems are based on unbacked fiat money without use value.
Mobile payment
A mobile payment, also referred to as mobile money, mobile money transfer and mobile wallet, is any of various payment processing services operated under financial regulations and performed from or via a mobile device, as the cardinal class of digital wallet. Instead of paying with cash, cheque, or credit cards, a consumer can use a payment app on a mobile device to pay for a wide range of services and digital or hard goods.
Cheque
A cheque, or check (American English; see spelling differences), is a document that orders a bank (or credit union) to pay a specific amount of money from a person's account to the person in whose name the cheque has been issued. The person writing the cheque, known as the drawer, has a transaction banking account (often called a current, cheque, chequing, checking, or share draft account) where the money is held.
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