Payment instruments

Universal and non-universal payment instruments

Some payment instruments are applicable to all accounts (or producers). These payment instruments are referred to as universal payment instruments. The universal payment instruments that are applicable to accounts include: Cash, Check, Responsive, and Unapplied Fund (Account).

(The universal payment instruments that are applicable to producers include: Cash, Check, and Unapplied Fund (Producer).)

A non-universal payment instrument is a payment instrument that applies to a single account (or producer). Non-universal payment instruments are typically credit cards or bank accounts that belong to the account holder. For example, suppose the Ray Newton account has a payment instrument that is a bank account with the account number 07025 93211. This is a non-universal payment instrument.

All payment instruments have an immutable field.

• For universal payment instruments, this field is set to true.
• For non-universal payment instruments, this field is set to false.

What each type of payment instrument is used for?

Some payment instruments are used for payments that have been made. They identify how the payment was made.

• The universal Cash payment instrument is used for payments to indicate the payment was made with physical currency.
• The universal Check payment instrument is used for payments to indicate the payment was made with a check tied to some sort of bank account.
• The account-specific payment instruments, such as Credit Card, are used for payments to indicate the payment was made with the associated payment instrument (such as a given credit card associated with the account).

Some universal payment instruments are used for account to identify where payments will come from.

• The universal Responsive payment instrument is used for accounts to indicate an invoice will be sent and the payer will respond with a payment (such as a cash payment, a check payment, or a credit card payment).
• The account-specific payment instruments (such as Credit Card), which can be used for payments, can also be used for accounts. When the account's payment instrument is set to an account-specific payment instrument (such as a specific credit card), BillingCenter automatically deducts payment from the payment instrument when the invoice is billed.

Some universal payment instruments are used for internal BillingCenter transactions.

• The universal Unapplied Fund (Account) payment instrument is used for zero-dollar money distributions, which occur when BillingCenter uses money in an unapplied fund to execute a credit distribution.