A direct payment is a payment that goes straight from the person or business paying to the person or business being paid, rather than through a third party that collects, holds or redistributes the money. In banking it usually means an account-to-account payment, such as a bank transfer or pay by bank, in contrast with payments routed through card networks, marketplaces or wallets. In e-commerce, a direct payment model means the buyer pays the seller's own account, while in a marketplace or merchant of record model the platform collects first.
The term also appears in other contexts. Governments speak of direct payments when they pay benefits, subsidies or farm support straight into recipients' accounts, and businesses use it for paying suppliers directly rather than through a factor or agent. Direct payments can lower costs and speed up settlement, but they may give the payer fewer protections than card payments, which offer chargeback rights.