Payment and banking generally go hand-in-hand. Except for relatively small-value transactions, where cash, payment cards, and, increasingly, forms of e-money are used, payments are usually made through the banking system. This chapter analyzes some of the legal problems arising with payment through the banking system. The first section sketches the basic elements of payment and the way banks make payment. The second section turns to some specific issues — how payment obligations are discharged, whether payment instructions can be countermanded, the availability of funds to payees, and the completion of payment as between banks. The third section examines clearing and settlement systems. In the main the focus of this chapter is on large payments, rather than retail payments.
Chapter
12. Principles of Payment
Ross Cranston, Emilios Avgouleas, Kristin van Zweiten, Theodor van Sante, and Christoper Hare
Chapter
3. Payment methods
Iris Chiu and Joanna Wilson
This chapter examines payment methods, which refer to the mechanisms, procedures, and organisations that are used to enable parties to discharge their payment obligations. While there are a vast range of different payment mechanisms, the most common methods are cheques, payment cards, and the electronic transfer of funds. A cheque is a written order from an account holder instructing their bank to pay a specified sum of money to one or more named beneficiaries. Meanwhile, payment cards—small pieces of plastic that are used in financial transactions—have revolutionised the way that people pay for goods or services. Lastly, the transfer of funds refers to the movement of a credit balance from one account to another, which occurs by adjusting the balances of the respective party’s accounts. The chapter then looks at recent innovations in the payment services industry relating to open banking and third-party providers.
Chapter
17. Payment cards and electronic money
D Fox, RJC Munday, B Soyer, AM Tettenborn, and PG Turner
This chapter focuses on the use of payment cards in commercial transactions, taking into account traditional credit and debit cards and also the more modern contactless instruments, including smartphones, which has been made increasingly available through mobile payment technology. This chapter begins with a discussion of the main types of payment card in general circulation in the UK, including credit (and charge) cards, debit cards, ATM cards, and multifunctional cards. It then considers contractual networks and the regulation of contractual relationships and finally liability for unauthorised transactions and connected lender liability.
