Alternative payment

Alternative payments refers to payment methods that are used as an alternative to credit card payments. Most alternative payment methods address a domestic economy or have been specifically developed for electronic commerce and the payment systems are generally supported and operated by local banks. Each alternative payment method has its own unique application and settlement process, language and currency support, and is subject to domestic rules and regulations.

The most common alternative payment methods are debit cards, charge cards, prepaid cards, direct debit, bank transfers, phone and mobile payments, checks, money orders and cash payments.

A debit card (also known as a bank card or check card) is a plastic card that provides an alternative payment method to cash when making purchases. A charge card is a plastic card that provides an alternative to cash when making purchases in which the issuer and the cardholder enter into an agreement that the debt incurred on the charge account will be paid in full and by due date. Debit and charge cards are used and accepted in many countries and can be used at a point of sale location or online.

Prepaid or stored-value cards provide payment through a monetary value held on the actual card or on deposit in an account. One major difference between stored-value cards and prepaid cards is that prepaid cards are usually issued in the name of the individual account holders, while stored value cards are usually anonymous. In the United States, prepaid and stored-value cards typically can be processed on the credit card network, but this is not the case for all cards, especially those outside of the United States.

A direct debit or direct withdrawal is an instruction that a bank account holder gives to his or her bank to collect an amount directly from another account. It is similar to a direct deposit but initiated by the beneficiary. Direct debit is available in several countries including the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. It was scheduled to be available across the whole Single European Payments Area by the end of 2010. In the United States, where checks are more popular than bank transfers, a similar service is available through the Automated Clearing House network.

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Wikipedia