Break-even

When does card pay for itself?

The card fee buys speed. Getting paid sooner is worth real money — your cost of capital plus inflation, every day earlier. So there's a day-count where the two cancel: pay suppliers that many days faster and the residual fee is fully covered. Beyond it, the card is cheaper than free.

Your assumptions

Card fee (MDR)

The gross merchant-discount rate you pay.

Level III interchange benefit

Rate reduction earned by passing line-item data.

AR / operations savings

Reconciliation and collections cost the card removes.

Tax rate on the fee

Card fees are deductible — capped at 21% (IRS deductibility).

Cost of capital (WACC)

Your weighted average cost of capital.

Inflation rate

Annual rate eroding the value of a dollar paid later.

Break-even acceleration Live

Days faster you need to get paid

~39 days

Residual fee to cover

123 bps

Value gained per day faster

3.2 bps/day

Gross card fee (MDR)+225 bps

− Level III interchange–25 bps

− AR / operations savings–30 bps

− Tax benefit (deductibility)–47 bps

Residual fee time-value must cover123 bps

Illustrative estimate — your diagnostic produces the real number. Break-even = residual fee ÷ daily carry rate, where the daily carry rate is (cost of capital + inflation) ÷ 365. Tax benefit capped at 21% (IRS deductibility).

Get your real number See the net-cost calculator

This is a model, not a quote. It moves the way the economics move — but every program has its own spend mix, interchange qualification, term structure, and how much faster suppliers actually get paid.

A paid scoping diagnostic baselines your actual file and produces the break-even and net cost you can take to Treasury — not an illustration.

Speed has a price too. Getting paid faster is worth real money — and it offsets the fee.

Break-even in days Cost of capital + inflation Inside your firewall Pay-for-performance

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