payment
a sum of money paid or a claim discharged
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify
Researched by: Claude
Purpose and description
Let an agent describe payments by parties, amount, method, status and reference, and never execute a payment or transfer on anyone behalf.
A transfer of money or other value from a payer to a payee to discharge an obligation, and the sum so transferred.
What it is for: Settling debts and paying for goods, services, wages, taxes and benefits.
It can be initiate and authorise it, which only the payer may do; track it, through its status and reference; reverse or dispute it, under the rules of the method; reconcile it, against invoices and accounts.
Distinguishing features
Discharges an obligation, which distinguishes it from a gift or a loan
Has a method with its own rules for timing, cost and reversal
Authorised by the payer
The same word covers the act and the amount
What it looks like
A receipt, bank statement line, invoice marked paid, or a confirmation in an app, carrying amount, date, parties and reference.
How it is recognised
Amount, currency, date, payer, payee and reference
Status: pending, completed, failed, reversed
Types such as royalty, bonus, dividend or premium describe the reason, not the method
Related models
moves - payments transfer money
settles - the obligation discharged
is processed by - card schemes, SEPA, Faster Payments and others
is confused with - no obligation is discharged
In practice
Families and kinds
by method: cash, card, bank transfer, direct debit, cheque, e-money, instant payment
by purpose: wages, royalties, dividends, bonuses, premiums, taxes
by timing: one-off, recurring, instalment
Identifiers
payment reference end-to-end id links the payment to its purpose
IBAN up to 34 characters identifies accounts, not payments
ISO 20022 message pacs, pain, camt messages standard payment messages
Standards and regulation
EU Payment Services Directive (PSD2) and national equivalents
ISO 20022 financial messaging
Card scheme rules and chargeback procedures
Anti-money-laundering and sanctions law
Failure modes and hazards
Authorised push payment fraud
Wrong payee or amount
Duplicate payments
Failed payments causing penalties
Analytical facets
- substance
- social
- origin
- conceptual
- agency
- inert
- mobility
- not-applicable
- scale
- not-applicable
- affordances
- observable
Also called
+109
Where this came from
oewn:2024 · CC BY 4.0
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions.
Parties and amount Who pays whom, how much.
The core record of a payment is parties, amount and purpose.
Parties
Payer and payee.
Parties identified
Payer and payee and their accounts.
- Who is the payer and who the payee? definition
- Has the payee been verified, for example by name check? boundary
Amount and purpose
Sum, currency and reason.
Amount and purpose
The amount, currency and obligation.
- What amount and currency, for which obligation? measurement
- Which reference links it to the invoice or debt? provenance
Method How the payment moves.
The method decides speed, cost and reversibility.
Channel
Card, transfer, debit, cash.
Method used
The method and scheme.
- By which method and scheme is the payment made? definition
- What does it cost, and who pays the fees? measurement
Timing
Execution and settlement.
Timing
When it executes and settles.
- When will it arrive, and when is it final? measurement
- What cut-off times apply? boundary
Status and disputes Where it is and what if it goes wrong.
Status and dispute rights are what people ask about.
Status
Pending, completed, failed.
Current status
The status and its source.
- What is the current status of this payment, according to which system? provenance
- What does that status mean for the payee? definition
Disputes and reversal
Chargebacks and recalls.
Dispute rights
Rights to dispute or reverse.
- Can this payment be disputed or recalled, and within what time? boundary
- Who should the payer contact? action
Controls Authorisation, fraud and law.
Payments are a main target of fraud and are heavily regulated; an agent must not execute them.
Authorisation
Strong authentication.
Authorisation check
How the payer authorised it.
- How was this payment authorised? provenance
- Must the payer confirm it personally? action
Fraud and sanctions
Screening and red flags.
Screening
Fraud and sanctions checks.
- Does this payment show fraud red flags? boundary
- Which sanctions or reporting rules apply? boundary
What the second pass must settle
- Should payment methods be separate entries?
- How should payment status be represented for agents answering "has it been paid"?
- How should payment purposes merged here, such as dividends and royalties, be split off?