Payments & operations

Advance payment

A payment made before the corresponding goods or services are supplied, under terms that state how the amount will be applied, held or returned.

Also known as prepayment, upfront payment

B2B payment

A transfer of value between businesses to satisfy a commercial obligation, such as a supplier invoice.

Also known as business-to-business payment, B2B payments

Buy now, pay later

A point-of-purchase credit arrangement that lets a customer obtain goods or services and repay the financed amount through an agreed installment plan.

Also known as BNPL

Chargeback

A reversal process associated with a cardholder’s dispute through the card issuer and card-payment framework, rather than an ordinary merchant-initiated refund.

Also known as chargebacks

Checkout

The customer-facing process that confirms an order’s details and initiates or completes the selected payment flow.

Also known as checkout flow

Client trust accounting

The recording and control of money held on behalf of clients or other entitled parties, separately from the professional’s own funds under applicable rules.

Also known as trust accounting

Cross-border payment

A payment between parties located in different jurisdictions, potentially involving multiple payment systems, intermediaries or currencies.

Also known as international payment

Cryptocurrency payment

A payment arrangement in which a cryptocurrency transfer is used to satisfy an agreed amount owed for goods, services or another obligation.

Also known as crypto payment, crypto payments

Escrow

An arrangement in which a third party holds money, property or documents and releases them according to conditions agreed by the parties.

Installment payment

One payment in a series used to pay an agreed total over time, under a schedule that defines amounts, dates and other applicable terms.

Also known as installments, payment installment

Invoice

A commercial document stating what a seller charges a buyer, including the relevant goods or services, amount and payment details.

Also known as invoicing

IOLTA

Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts: programs that direct interest from qualifying pooled lawyer trust accounts to designated legal-services or access-to-justice purposes.

Also known as Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts

Micropayment

A payment of a small amount, often used for an individual item, brief usage or a frequent low-value interaction; there is no universal monetary cutoff.

Also known as microtransaction, micropayments, microtransactions

Milestone payment

A payment linked to the completion or acceptance of a defined project stage or performance event rather than solely to the passage of time.

Also known as milestone billing

Net payment terms

Commercial terms that define when an invoice’s full amount becomes due, commonly expressed as a number of days from an agreed starting point.

Also known as net terms

Payment gateway

Technology that connects a merchant’s checkout or payment request to the systems used to accept and process a payment.

Also known as payment gateways

Payment reconciliation

The process of matching payment and accounting records across systems, explaining differences and documenting corrections or unresolved exceptions.

Also known as reconciliation

Payment service provider

An individual or organization providing payment services, with its exact role and regulatory status determined by its activities and the applicable framework.

Also known as PSP

Payment settlement

The completion of a transaction or processing stage through a transfer of funds or assets intended to discharge the relevant obligations.

Also known as settlement

Payout

A disbursement of funds to an intended recipient, such as a transfer from a payment provider’s available merchant balance to a bank account.

Also known as payouts

Point of sale

The system or setting where a merchant records a sale and accepts the customer’s payment, often in person.

Also known as POS, POS system

Purchase order

A buyer-issued commercial document describing the goods or services being ordered and the agreed or proposed purchasing details.

Also known as PO, purchase orders

Recurring payment

A payment made repeatedly under an ongoing arrangement, with timing, amount and authorization determined by that arrangement.

Also known as recurring payments

Refund

A return of money or value to a customer in connection with an earlier payment, usually initiated under the merchant’s or provider’s refund process.

Also known as refunds