I had the bank 'stop payment on' the check. = I had a 'stop payment' (order) put on the check. [=I told the bank not to take money from my account to pay for the check]
Their family is struggling to 'meet the payments on' their house. = They're struggling to keep up (with) their 'mortgage payments'.
They agreed to pay $1,000 a year for five years and then make a 'balloon payment' of $50,000 at the end of the term.
(..) ...whilst traveling on the Greenway. They mistook me for a vagabond. I imagine they regretted that. One of them was carrying a message. It is Black Speech. A promise of payment. For what? Your head. Someone wants you dead. Thorin, you can wait no longer. You are... (..)2013 The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug