What does remittal mean?
Remittal is a formal noun meaning money sent to someone, usually as payment, or the act of sending that money. It appears frequently in financial and administrative contexts, such as descriptions of bank transfers, recurring payments, and the movement of funds between accounts or countries. For example, a company may promise to provide a remittance to a supplier each month, while a recipient may report that a remittance is delayed. The word often carries a precise, transactional tone rather than the broad neutrality of payment. Although both terms overlap considerably, remittance usually refers more directly to money sent, whereas remittal can emphasize either the payment itself or the process involved in sending it. Remittal is less common in everyday speech than remittance but is useful in formal financial, legal, and business writing.
nounAn amount of money sent to another person, especially as payment. In more formal or legal usage, the term can also denote the act or process of remitting money.
- An amount of money sent to another person, especially as payment.
- The act or process of sending money to another person.
"The remittance arrived in my account on Tuesday."
"Her monthly remittance covers the cost of the course."
"The remittance of funds was delayed by the bank."
Used when referring to separate amounts of money sent or separate acts of sending money.
"The agency received three remittals before the end of the month."
Remittal sounds like the journey of money, but it is also the formal name for the act of sending it.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does remittal come from?
Remittal was formed in the 19th century from remit, a word borrowed from Latin remittere, meaning “to send” or “to send back.” The Latin verb combined re-, meaning “back” or “again,” with mittere, meaning “to send.” Remit developed in English in legal and financial senses before acquiring the modern verb meaning “to send money,” while remittal and remittance developed as forms emphasizing a payment or the act of sending it.
Related word forms
How remittal is actually used
Remittal is formal and is especially common in financial, commercial, and administrative contexts. In everyday English, remittance is often used instead.
Easily confused with remittal
Remittance most commonly denotes the money itself that is sent, whereas remittal can denote either that amount or the act of sending it.