Trade · 6 pages · 12 min

Why a payment can be final in one system and reversible in another

Finality is a rule of the payment system, so one rail can unwind a credit that another rail will not.

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From the opening

A payment is final when the rules of its system say the credit can no longer be undone inside that system. Another system can show a credit and still allow a return, a chargeback, or a recall for a defined window. The opening covers final means the rail will not unwind, provisional credit can still return, and courts sit outside the rail.

The rest of the brief — the later sections and the reading notes — opens after Stripe confirms payment.

Inside

Final means the rail will not unwind
Provisional credit can still return
Courts sit outside the rail
A posted balance may be early
Where the idea stops applying
A distinction worth keeping

Sources

Settlement finality in payment systems
Provisional credit and payment returns

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Why a payment can be final in one system and reversible in another

From the opening

Inside

Sources

Also on the desk