A payee is a party in an exchange of goods or services who receives payment. The payee is paid by cash, check, or another transfer medium by a payer. In the case of a promissory note, through which one party promises to pay another party a predetermined sum, the party receiving the payment is known as the payee. The party making the payment is known as the payer. For coupon payments from bonds, the party receiving the coupon is the payee and the bond issuer is the payer.
In the context of the United States Social Security Disability or Supplemental Security Income, a representative payee, or substitute payee, is a person who acts as the receiver of the benefits for a person who is not fully capable of managing their own benefits, i.e. cannot be their own payee. The representative payee is expected to assist the person with money management, along with providing protection from financial abuse and victimization.
