Defer pay out across America (7)
I believe the answer is:
suspend
'defer' is the definition.
(suspending is a kind of defering)
'pay out across america' is the wordplay.
'pay out' becomes 'spend' (I've seen this before).
'across' indicates putting letters inside.
'america' becomes 'us' (abbreviation for the United States).
'spend' going around 'us' is 'SUSPEND'.
(Other definitions for suspend that I've seen before include "Dangle or postpone" , "Adjourn" , "Hang - discontinue" , "Delay" , "Sends up (anag)" .)