noun
prepayment; freight prepaid
Used in shipping, postal, and logistics contexts to indicate that the sender pays the charges in advance, as opposed to 着払い (collect on delivery).
この荷物は元払いで送ってください。
Please send this package with freight prepaid.
元払いと着払いのどちらになさいますか。
Would you like it sent prepaid or collect on delivery?
着払い means the recipient pays the shipping charges upon delivery, while 元払い means the sender pays in advance.
Compound of 元 (もと, 'origin, source') and 払い (ばらい, 'payment'), literally 'payment at the source'.