What it means
Schedule and financing
Installments can arise in a loan or another commercial arrangement. A repayment schedule does not by itself identify the lender, interest, security or legal rights. Read the actual agreement rather than assuming that every plan is interest-free credit.
Collect each obligation accurately
A system should track the original total, each amount due, accepted payments and any adjustments. Where customers make manual crypto transfers, a scheduled amount is not an authorization to debit a wallet. Valuation and late-payment rules need to specify the currency or asset in which the obligation is measured.
Related concepts
In practice
A concrete example
A purchase agreement states three amounts due on separate dates, and the merchant records which obligation each accepted transfer satisfies.
Technical notes & boundaries
An installment plan, BNPL product and milestone arrangement are distinct concepts. Consumer-credit requirements depend on the product and jurisdiction.
Go to the source.
Original references used for this definition. Product details and standards can change.