1.
advance payment; prepayment; paying in advance
Payment made before goods are delivered or services are rendered. Composed of 前 (before) + 払い (payment). The opposite of 後払い (payment after receipt).
Usage
前払い is used as a noun or a no-adjective: 前払いの料金 (prepaid charge). It can also function as a suru-verb in some contexts.
Common collocations
Similar words
後払い means "deferred payment" or "pay later" — the opposite of 前払い. 先払い also means "advance payment" and is used interchangeably in many contexts. プリペイド is the loanword for "prepaid" and is common for cards and phone plans.
Related Words
Antonym:
後払い (deferred payment)
Compare:
前金 (advance payment)
Compare:
先払い (advance payment)