1st Party & 3rd Party Payments

Align supports both 1st Party & 3rd Party Payments. There are some fundamental differences between these two products.

Differences between 1st Party & 3rd Party Payments.

The fundamental difference between payment types comes down to the legal identity of the sender and the receiver.

• If they are the exact same entity, it's a 1st party payment.

• If they are different entities or individuals, it's a 3rd party payment.

💡 Important - 3rd party payments can only be processed via Virtual Accounts.

• 1st Party Payments can be processed to/from Align Payments Ltd

• 3rd Party Payments can only be processed to/from a customer's Virtual Account. You cannot process 3rd party transactions directly without creating a Virtual Account.

Quick overview

Feature	1st Party Payments	3rd Party Payments
Entities Involved	One (Sender and Receiver are the same)	Two or more (Sender and Receiver are different)
Primary Purpose	Treasury management, account funding, liquidity, balancing books	B2B payments, payroll, purchasing, customer refunds, paying invoices
Virtual Account Required	No	Yes
Name of Sender / Receiver	Align Payments Ltd	Your Customer's Name

1st Party Payments

A 1st party payment (often called a "me-to-me" transfer) occurs when a business or individual moves money between different financial accounts that they own. The funds never leave the legal control of the entity.

• Expanded Example: Acme Inc. sends a payment from its primary stablecoin wallet to to its Acme Inc. Bank of America payroll account.

• Common Use Cases:

  • Treasury management and moving money between your own accounts.

  • Funding a specialized account (like a payroll or tax account) before a disbursement.

  • Moving money across borders between international subsidiaries of the exact same company.

3rd Party Payments

A 3rd party payment occurs when funds are transferred from one legal entity to an entirely different one. This is the standard definition of a commercial transaction or a payout.

• Completed Example: Acme Inc. sends a payment to Beta Corp to settle an invoice for software services, or Acme Inc. sends a direct deposit to Jane Doe, an employee.

• Common Use Cases:

  • Accounts Payable: Paying vendors, suppliers, or contractors.

  • Payroll: Disbursing salaries to employees.

  • Customer Transactions: Issuing a refund to a customer or receiving a payment from a buyer.