Developed for both on and off-road use, the Paystar was the largest commercially-marketed product range sold by International, intended for vocational applications (primarily construction-related).

For 2017, the Paystar underwent a substantial redesign, becoming the International HX series.

The PayStar was introduced by International Harvester in January 1972 as a construction-specific version of the conventional Transtar.

By 2013, the PayStar was commonly a semi tractor although straight truck applications were still offered.

Severe service straight truck applications were handled by the Workstar series, which offered no semi-tractors.