Bondsmen don't generally put up the cash directly for a bond, instead they have a standing deal with the courts they work that guarantees that they will pay if

Bondsmen don't generally put up the cash directly for a bond, instead they have a standing deal with the courts they work that guarantees that they will pay if someone skips bail (which is backed by the local line-of-credit; I should have been clearer about that). Thus, it's pretty clear who's paying for the bond. If someone walks in with a bunch of cash or a cheque then they're probably doing it themselves (or they've committed some other crime by getting money from an unlicensed lender), if a bond agent walks in and says "he's with us", then it's with them. On paper, it's lowering the bail. In practice, the amount the person is paying has stayed the same, as have the incentives.