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Net cost of card

Card isn't 3%. It's basis points.

The 3% sticker rate ignores the four things that pay you back. Count cash acceleration, tax treatment, inflation, Level III data, and AR savings — and the real net cost of acceptance lands in basis points, not percent. Often, the card costs less than free.

Your assumptions

Total card-eligible supplier spend per year.

$

Days suppliers wait today on check or ACH.

days

Days until the card actually pays the supplier.

days

Your weighted average cost of capital.

%

Annual rate eroding the value of a dollar paid later.

%

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

%

The gross merchant-discount rate you pay.

%

Rate reduction earned by passing line-item data.

%

Reconciliation and collections cost the card removes.

%
Net cost of card Live

Real net cost of acceptance

–24 bps

Net cost in dollars
–$11,969
Savings vs. 3% sticker
$136,969
Gross card fee (MDR)+250 bps
− Cash acceleration–117 bps
− Inflation mitigation–49 bps
− Tax benefit (deductibility)–53 bps
− Level III interchange–30 bps
− AR / operations savings–25 bps
Net cost of card–24 bps
Illustrative estimate — your diagnostic produces the real number. Economics direction follows Visa Commercial Solutions © 2023 (net cost lands in the 12–82 bps range, not ~3%). Tax benefit capped at 21% (IRS deductibility).
Get your real number See how it works

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

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

The cost case is settled. The reason programs stall is enablement reach — not price.

12–82 bps net, not 3% Visa-sourced economics Inside your firewall Pay-for-performance

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