"Instalment" is the British and Commonwealth English spelling of installment, the American English spelling used elsewhere on this wiki. Both spellings refer to exactly the same underlying concept: one of a series of regular, usually equal, payments made over time to repay a loan, lease, or purchase in parts rather than all at once.
Readers encountering "instalment" in British, Irish, Australian, South African, or other Commonwealth English sources, including terms such as "instalment loan," "monthly instalment," or "instalment plan," should understand these as referring to precisely the same financial concept described in detail on the main Installment entry, which covers how installment credit works, how it differs from revolving credit, and what happens when an installment payment is missed.
The spelling difference reflects a broader pattern of divergence between American and British English, similar to other finance-related word pairs such as "check" and "cheque," and does not indicate any difference in financial meaning or legal treatment between the two spellings.
This page exists purely as a spelling pointer and intentionally stays short; readers wanting the full detail on how instalment credit works should continue to the main entry above.