2015 AFP Payments Cost Benchmarking Survey

2015 AFP

Payments Cost

Benchmarking Survey

REPORT OF SURVEY RESULTS

Underwritten by

KEY FINDINGS

2015 AFP

Payments Cost

Benchmarking Survey

*Using median cost of $1.50

ESTIMATED MONTHLY COST OF RECEIVING 20,000 CHECKS PER MONTH*

Underwritten by

DAILY COST OF

~$1,000

A MONTHLY COST OF

$30,000

AN ANNUAL COST OF

$360,000

Monday

of companies are transitioning

their B2B payments from paper

checks to electronic payments.

Nearly

80%

More would do so if

there was a cost beneﬁt

to their organization.

Association for Financial Professionals

4520 East-West Highway, Suite 750

Bethesda, MD 20814

Phone 301.907.2862

Fax 301.907.2864

www.AFPonline.org

2015 AFP

Payments Cost

Benchmarking Survey

REPORT OF SURVEY RESULTS

Underwritten by

Dear Finance Professional/Corporate Practitioner,

Bottomline Technologies is proud to partner with the Association for Financial

Professionals® (AFP) to sponsor its inaugural Payments Cost Benchmarking Survey.

The results indicate the real payment costs incurred by organizations like yours, and

reinforce what you likely already know—that paper checks are signiﬁcantly more

expensive than electronic payments. Key ﬁndings include:

• 79% of organizations surveyed are seeking to convert paper checks to

electronic payments.

• 88% of organizations say their primary driver for converting to electronics

payments is to increase efﬁciency; 82% to reduce costs, 60% for fraud prevention.

• Sending a paper check is 10 times more expensive than the internal or external

cost of sending and receiving an ACH payment, and receiving a paper check is

more than 5 times as expensive.

• The median cost of sending a paper check is $3.00; receiving a paper check

is $1.57.

• The median internal cost for sending and receiving ACH payments is $0.29 and

the median external cost for sending and receiving ACH payments is $0.27.

In an economy where every competitive advantage helps an organization “get the

edge”, the cost savings, efﬁciencies, and improved control and security gained by

automating payments can no longer be ignored.

Thank you to AFP for providing these payment cost insights. We hope the information

is useful for your organization as you make the business case for improvement to your

mission-critical payment processes. Partnering with a trusted provider of cloud-based

and easy to use payment, invoice, digital banking and fraud prevention solutions can

help you create a plan for automation that will empower your business to innovate,

win and grow. We welcome the opportunity to work with you as you look to 2016.

Best regards,

Rick Booth

Chief Financial Ofﬁcer

Bottomline Technologies

2015 AFP Payments Cost Benchmarking Survey

INTRODUCTION

The payments industry faces a rapidly changing environment. Indeed, the gap between

technological advances in the payments eld and traditional payments methods is noticeably

widening. To help bridge that gap, many payments professionals are pursuing eorts to

improve those systems. Within the U.S. the Federal Reserve has initiated the Faster

Payments initiative with the ultimate goal of building a new, fast and pervasive payments

system. The Clearing House has undertaken a multi-year project to design a real-time pay-

ment system to address gaps in payment processing to enable consumers and businesses

to securely send and receive payments. In the spring of 2015, NACHA—the Electronic

Payments Association

—approved its Same-Day-ACH (automatic clearing house) product.

Such eorts aren’t conned to the U.S.: note the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) in the

Eurozone countries, and Faster Payments in the U.K.

However, even as payment technologies advance, in the U.S. paper checks continue to be

the most popular payment method. The 2013 AFP Electronic Payments Survey revealed that

although declining, the use of paper checks still accounted for about 50 percent of a U.S.-

based organization’s business-to-business (B2B) transactions. That relatively high share

of check payments can be attributed to the ubiquitous nature of checks, tradition, the

challenges of converting to electronic payment methods, and sometimes complacency.

Corporate systems and routines are set up to handle a large number of checks; consequently

there may be some reluctance to alter a process that “works.” Additionally, implementation of

new processes often requires organizations to purchase new technology and train personnel.

For those nance professionals who do want to shift their organizations’ payment systems

from paper checks to electronic payments, they will need to make a strong business case to

justify the investment required for such a shift. To gain approval from senior management,

they will need to have a solid grasp of various payment method costs. Determining those

costs with any accuracy is challenging; such calculations are dependent on a number of

variables including existing bank relationships and nancial systems, and may be interpreted

dierently by various organizations.

In order to provide treasury and other nance professionals with a tool to gain more

granular information regarding the costs of various payment methods, the Association

for Financial Professionals

(AFP) conducted its inaugural Payments Cost Benchmarking

Survey. Survey participants had the option of either selecting cost estimates within dened

cost ranges or providing their best estimated cost as a dollar value. The survey questions

also distinguish between external and internal costs for payments: external costs include all

payments to an external party such as bank/payment provider fees, reporting, interchange for

credit cards, etc.; internal costs include any internal organizational resources that a

company considers part of the cost of payments such as personnel, technical equipment,

IT support, etc.

The results of The 2015 AFP Payments Cost Benchmarking Survey are backed by data

from over 500 respondents and conrm what the industry has suspected for a while: that

paper checks are considerably more expensive than some electronic payment methods.

The estimated median cost of a check transaction is $3.00,

the estimated median external

cost range of each ACH (automatic clearing house) credit transaction is between $0.26

and $0.50 per ACH Credit transaction, and the estimated median cost of a purchasing card

transaction is $1.50. These ndings provide nance professionals with solid data to build a

business case showing that switching to electronic payments could result in real cost

savings for their organizations.

1. All dollar ﬁgures in this report are in USD.

2015 AFP Payments Cost Benchmarking Survey

A note on our cost indications for dierent payment methods in this report—some

assumptions regarding the survey data have been made in order to make the numbers

practically usable. These assumptions may step away slightly from the pure data, but

will assist in the benchmarking of costs for dierent payment methods. We hope this will

provide greater value to AFP’s corporate treasury members in business case assessments

of changes to their current payment processes and systems.

AFP thanks Bottomline Technologies for its underwriting support of the 2015 AFP

Payments Cost Benchmarking Survey. The Research Department of the Association for

Financial Professionals

designed the survey questionnaire, analyzed the survey results,

produced the report and is solely responsible for its content. The survey generated 534 re-

sponses which are the basis of this report. More details regarding the survey methodology

as well as respondent demographics can be found on page 24.

2015 AFP Payments Cost Benchmarking Survey

CENTRALIZED/DECENTRALIZED OPERATIONS

Half of organizations deliver their payments from a single centralized corporate treasury

operation. While single centralized treasury operations are more prevalent among smaller

organizations (with annual revenues of less than $1 billion) than larger ones, even among

large companies they are more prevalent than other types of operations. Privately held

companies are also more likely than publicly owned ones to deliver payments via a

centralized operation. Centralized payments operations provide numerous benets such as

economies of scale, reductions in the number of bank connections and centralized payment

ows. They also have the added advantage of a skilled work force in a single location.

Fewer companies—13 percent—have established one or more specic Shared Service

Centers (SSCs). Larger organizations—those with annual revenues of at least $5 billion—

are more likely than smaller ones to use SSCs. This is not surprising since larger companies

have larger operations, generate larger payment volumes and have greater resources on

hand. Conversely, retaining functions such as payments systems at moderately sized

corporate headquarters may extend the same advantages without the added cost of a

shared service center.

An even smaller share of organizations—seven percent—has decentralized payments

operations. Often organizations have decentralized operations as a result of expansion

through acquisitions without incorporating and/or centralizing the various entities’ payment

functions. Maintaining these operations “as is” can be costly and may only provide

marginal benets; they may be ecient but also redundant across the organization as a

whole. Another rationale for having decentralized treasury operations may be changes in

business strategy. This can involve complicated treasury operations and internal payment

streams using more bank connections and payments systems than necessary.

Payment operations are not always viewed as a strategic business priority even though

they provide critical support to an organization. Nevertheless, it is important that these

processes run smoothly, securely and cost-eectively. Cost is one reason few organizations

(only one percent) outsource their payment operations. Smaller organizations may not

be able to justify any benets from outsourcing their payments. Real or perceived loss of

control is also a likely reason for some reluctance to having external parties handle pay-

ments. For large organizations with very complex payments systems and operations, the

cost for outsourcing may be justied, especially considering time savings and the potential

for maintaining a smaller payments sta. Outsourcing payments can provide benets to

any organization, including transition of payment risk to a third party and increased sta

productivity by moving non-core tasks outside of the business.

2015 AFP Payments Cost Benchmarking Survey

PAYMENT METHODS

Payment Delivery Methods

(Percentage Distribution of Organizations)

Payment Methods Utilized at Organizations

(Percent of Organizations)

A vast majority (97 percent) of organizations uses checks, ACH Credit (93 percent) and

Wire/CHIPS (92 percent) for payments. Both ACH Credit and wire/CHIPS are used less

prevalently by smaller organizations with annual revenues of less than $1 billion. Credit

cards, though typically more expensive than other payment methods, are used at three out

of four companies; debit cards are the least popular, being used at 29 percent of organiza-

tions. Privately held organizations use credit cards to a larger extent (78 percent) than do

organizations that are publicly owned and only 18 percent of privately held organizations

accept debit cards compared to 26 percent of publicly owned companies.

2. NOTE: Total responses noted within tables include those from individuals who may not have provided their organizations’

revenue and/or ownership demographic information.

Revenue Revenue Revenue

Less Than Between At Least Publicly Privately

All $1 Billion $1-4.9 Billion $5 Billion owned held

Single centralized corporate treasury operations

50% 56% 48% 39% 44% 61%

One/multiple centralized SSCs

13 10 15 17 17 11

Decentralized treasury operations

6 8 7 2 6 9

Outsourced

1 1 1 2 3 1

Mix of these methods

30 25 29 40 30 19

Total responses

503 243 143 117 117 86

Revenue Revenue Revenue

Less Than Between At Least Publicly Privately

All $1 Billion $1-4.9 Billion $5 Billion owned held

Checks 97% 95% 93% 92% 94% 99%

ACH Credit

(including EDI/CTX) 93 87 93 92 95 94

Wire/CHIPS 92 88 90 93 96 94

ACH Debit

(including EDI/CTX) 84 81 79 82 84 83

Credit Card 76 74 72 75 70 78

Debit Card 29 24 28 36 26 18

Total responses 516 247 146 119 118 86

2015 AFP Payments Cost Benchmarking Survey

INCOMING AND OUTGOING PAYMENTS

Incoming Payments

A typical organization processes a greater number of checks than other payment methods. The

median range is between 1,000 and 1,999 incoming checks per month; 37 percent of companies

handle less than 500 incoming checks and 22 percent receive more than 20,000 checks.

The median range of both ACH Credit and credit card incoming transactions is between

500 and 999, and the median range of incoming ACH Debit, wire and debit card transac-

tions is between 100 and 499.

Checks ACH Credit ACH Debit Wire Credit Card Debit Card

Less than 100 20% 23% 41% 42% 34% 41%

100-499 17 20 14 26 12 9

500-999 9 12 6 8 6 4

1,000-1,999 12 9 6 5 5 5

2,000-4,999 8 6 6 5 5 6

5,000-9,999 6 9 5 3 5 4

10,000-19,999 7 5 3 3 8 6

Greater than 20,000 22 17 20 7 24 24

Total responses 363 337 272 364 260 160

Median 1,000-1,999 500-999 100-499 100-499 500-999 100-499

Outgoing Payments

A typical organization processes between 1,000 and 1,999 outgoing checks per month and

between 500 and 999 outgoing payments via ACH Credit. Over 40 percent of organiza-

tions handle less than 100 outgoing transactions via ACH Debit, wire and credit card. The

median number of these payment methods falls within the 100-to-499 range.

Incoming Payments Handled Monthly

(Percentage Distribution of Transaction Volumes of Payment Types)

Checks ACH Credit ACH Debit Wire Credit Card

Less than 100 10% 23% 45% 45% 41%

100-499 18 17 15 26 21

500-999 15 13 9 10 8

1,000-1,999 15 9 6 4 6

2,000-4,999 12 11 7 4 6

5,000-9,999 7 7 4 1 6

10,000-19,999 6 4 1 2 2

Greater than 20,000 16 16 13 7 9

Total responses 355 323 289 354 255

Median 1,000-1,999 500-999 100-499 100-499 100-499

Outgoing Payments Handled Monthly

(Percentage Distribution of Transaction Volumes of Payment Types)

2015 AFP Payments Cost Benchmarking Survey

CHECKS

Survey results from corporate practitioners indicate that the median transaction cost for issuing

checks ranges between $2.01 and $4.00 per check; the median value for best estimated cost

of issuing a check is $3.00. But it’s important to note that when calculating the true cost of a

transaction, several variables are considered. The volume of checks is crucial to the calculation;

transaction cost per check is typically lower when processing a higher volume. Other factors

that can aect the total transaction cost for checks include costs for wages, check stock, print-

ing, postage and mailing and/or lockbox service fees, positive pay and escheatment tracking.

Consider this: 15 percent of organizations issue 20,000 or more checks per month. Using the

median $3.00 cost per check issued, the total cost to issue 20,000 checks per month is $60,000

or $720,000 per year. (The daily cost alone would total $2,000.) Of course, these “cost” num-

bers will dier depending on the volume of checks processed. [Additional tables showing more

granular breakout of the survey data can be found in the Appendix on page 24].

The 2013 AFP Electronic Payments Survey revealed that 50 percent of a U.S.-based organiza-

tion’s business-to-business (B2B) payments were made by check. However, the share of B2B

check payments has declined considerably from the 81 percent reported in the 2004 survey.

There was also a sharp decline in the share of organizations that relied on checks for over 60

percent of their payments—from 75 percent in 2004 to 41 percent in 2013.

Calculated Total Cost for ISSUING a Paper Check on a Per Item Basis

(Percentage Distribution of Cost of Issuing a Paper Check)

Revenue Revenue Revenue

Less Than Between At Least Publicly Privately

All $1 Billion $1-4.9 Billion $5 Billion owned held

$0.00 1% 1% 2% 2% — —

$0.01 - $0.50 10 11 11 8 9 14

$0.51-$1.00 15 18 13 11 12 17

$1.01 - $2.00 17 15 21 18 20 17

$2.01 - $4.00 17 15 19 21 20 12

$4.01 - $6.00 12 11 12 14 13 14

$6.01 - $10.00 11 11 13 10 13 12

$10.01 - $14.00 4 4 2 3 3 3

$14.01 - $18.00 3 4 1 3 3 3

$18.01 - $22.00 3 4 1 3 2 4

$22.01 -$26.00 4 3 2 6 4 5

Greater than $26.00 3 3 3 2 2 1

Total responses 320 159 92 63 101 78

Median Range $2.01-$4.00 $2.01-$4.00 $2.01-$4.00 $2.01-$4.00 $2.01-$4.00 $2.01-$4.00

Best Estimated Cost for ISSUING a paper check on a per item basis

Checks

Valid (N) 139

Mean $5.91

Median $3.00

Minimum $0.02

Maximum $50.00

2013 AFP Electronic

Payments Survey

www.afponline.org/epayments

Underwritten by

2013 AFP

Electronic Payments Survey

Report of Survey Results

lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

2015 AFP Payments Cost Benchmarking Survey

The median cost of receiving paper checks is lower than that of issuing them. The median

cost range to receive checks is $1.01-to- $2.00 and a median best estimated cost of $1.57. Smaller

organizations with annual revenues of less than $1 billion report similar median costs to both

receive and issue checks—a median range of $2.01-to-$4.00.

For larger organizations, the median range is lower. A signicant share of those organizations,

22 percent, receives more than 20,000 checks per month. The median range for organizations

with annual revenues of at least $5 billion is between $1.01 and $2.00, indicating a best estimated

median cost per check of around $1.50. Using that median cost of $1.50, an organization receiv-

ing 20,000 checks per month is likely incurring a daily cost of around $1,000, a monthly cost of

$30,000 and an annual cost of $360,000. Combining the costs for both incoming and outgoing

check payments, organizations that process in excess of 20,000 checks per month may see total

transaction costs for checks in the neighborhood of $1 million per year.

Calculated Total Cost for RECEIVING a Paper Check on a Per Item Basis

(Percentage Distribution of Cost for Receiving a Paper Check)

Revenue Revenue Revenue

Less Than Between At Least Publicly Privately

All $1 Billion $1-4.9 Billion $5 Billion owned held

$0.00 3% 4% 1% 2% – 1%

$0.01 - $0.50 18 15 20 22 16 21

$0.51-$1.00 19 18 23 16 19 22

$1.01 - $2.00 17 11 27 14 21 16

$2.01 - $4.00 16 16 13 21 15 21

$4.01 - $6.00 11 14 7 10 13 7

$6.01 - $10.00 7 8 2 8 7 7

$10.01 - $14.00 4 4 3 3 5 –

$14.01 - $18.00 1 1 2 2 2 1

$18.01 - $22.00 1 1 – – – 3

$22.01 -$26.00 – 5 – – – –

Greater than $26.00 3 3 2 3 4 1

Total responses 310 151 92 63 102 73

Median Range $1.01-$2.00 $2.01-$4.00 $1.01-$2.00 $1.01-$2.00 $1.01-$2.00 $1.01-$2.00

Best estimated cost for RECEIVING a paper check on a per item basis

Checks

Valid (N) 129

Mean $5.01

Median $1.57

Minimum $0.05

Maximum $75.00

Summary:

Initiating a paper check transaction

• Reported total median cost range of $2.01—$4.00

• Reported best estimated median cost of $3.00

Receiving a paper check transaction

• Reported total median cost range of $1.01—$2.00

• Reported best estimated median cost of $1.57

2015 AFP Payments Cost Benchmarking Survey

ACH Transactions

ACH (automatic clearing house) payments are electronic transactions that can be either

credit (push) or debit (pull). ACH Credit transactions send payments to a payee’s account

and include direct deposit. ACH Credit transactions are used primarily for payroll and

vendor payments. ACH Debit pulls payments from a payor’s account as directed by a

predetermined mandate. ACH Debit transactions are often used for mortgage payments,

insurance premiums, tax payments, etc. ACH transactions are aggregated and sent

through the operators (the Federal Reserve and The Clearing House) in batches at

predetermined intervals.

The total cost (sending and receiving) of processing ACH payments is dierent for debit

and credit transactions. The survey results reveal an external median cost range (including

bank/payment provider monthly fees, ACH fees, reporting, etc.) for ACH Credit transactions

of $0.26-to- $0.50. The internal median cost range (including personnel, service centers, IT

technology, etc.) is $0.11-to-$0.25.

It is important to note that the cost per ACH transactions varies wildly depending on vol-

ume because of the xed costs. Survey respondents report a median range for sending and

receiving ACH Credit transactions of 500-999 and 100-499 for ACH Debit transactions. The

cost per transaction can therefore be considerably lower for an organization with transaction

volumes in the 10,000 or higher range.

Summary:

Initiating and Receiving ACH transactions:

• Reported median total cost range

- External cost range of $0.26—$0.50

- Internal cost range of $0.11—$0.25

• Best estimated median cost:

- External cost of $0.27

- Internal cost of $0.29

According to AFP’s Bank Pricing data, banks typically price ACH Credits and Debits at the

same level for external costs. Note that the added costs for corporate trade exchange (CTX)

and electronic data interchange (EDI) are included in these numbers which is important to

consider given the additional benets of extended remittance information, etc.

2015 AFP Payments Cost Benchmarking Survey

Calculated EXTERNAL Costs (including bank/payment provider monthly fees,

ACH fees, reporting, etc.) and INTERNAL Costs (including personnel, service

centers, IT technology, etc.) for INITIATING and RECEIVING ACH Transactions

on a Per Item Basis (including EDI & CTX)

(Percentage Distribution of ACH Credit and ACH Debit External and Internal Costs)

Best Estimated EXTERNAL Costs for Initiating and Receiving ACH Transactions

ACH Credit ACH Debit

EXTERNAL EXTERNAL

Valid (N) 90 83

Mean $0.96 $1.13

Median $0.27 $0.25

Minimum $0.01 $0.01

Maximum $12.00 $15.00

Best Estimated INTERNAL Costs for Initiating and Receiving ACH Transactions

ACH Credit ACH Debit

INTERNAL INTERNAL

Valid (N) 78 75

Mean $1.38 $1.32

Median $0.29 $0.30

Minimum $0.01 $0.00

Maximum $20.00 $15.00

ACH Credit ACH Debit ACH Credit ACH Debit

EXTERNAL EXTERNAL INTERNAL INTERNAL

$0.00 2% 5% 6% 8%

$0.01 - $0.10 20 22 25 24

$0.11-$0.25 21 24 19 22

$0.26-$0.50 15 16 10 10

$0.51-$0.75 7 5 7 7

$0.76-$1.00 5 4 8 7

$1.01-$1.50 6 5 3 3

$1.51-$2.00 4 3 4 3

$2.01-$3.00 6 4 5 4

$3.01-$4.00 4 3 4 2

$4.01-$5.00 4 4 3 4

Greater than $5 5 6 7 7

Total responses 248 221 202 198

Median $0.26-$0.50 $0.11-$0.25 $0.11-$0.25 $0.11-$0.25

2015 AFP Payments Cost Benchmarking Survey

WIRE

Like ACH transactions, wire transfers are electronic fund transfers from one bank account to another. But

unlike ACH, a wire system such as FedWire in the U.S. is a real-time gross system (RTGS) which provides

immediate and nal settlement that is irrevocable. Wire transfers are typically used for lower volume,

time-sensitive transactions, usually of higher monetary value. They are immediate and are conrmed upon

receipt, making them the payment method of choice for settling many capital markets activities, acquisition

payments, real estate closings, investment activity, foreign exchange settlements, etc.

But with that convenience and speed comes a higher cost that can vary widely. One organization may pay

over $50 for a wire transaction while others may pay only a fraction of that. The overall external median cost

for initiating a wire transaction ranges from $7.51 to $10.00. The median best estimated reported external

cost for initiating a wire transaction is $8.00.

The cost for wire transactions can dier depending on the size of an organization as well as the kind of

banking service agreement and the relationship an organization has with its banking partner(s). Smaller

organizations with annual revenues of less than $1 billion report an external median cost range for initiating

wires in line with the overall range cited above. Mid-sized organizations—those with annual revenues between

$1 billion and $4.9 billion—report a higher cost range of $10.01-to-$15.00. Large organizations with at least

$5 billion in annual revenues report a lower external median cost range for initiating wires of $5.01-to-$7.00.

Calculated Total Transaction EXTERNAL Cost (bank fees, etc.) for INITIATING Wire Payments on a Per Item Basis

(Percentage Distribution of External Costs for Initiating a Wire Transaction)

Revenue Revenue Revenue

Less Than Between At Least Publicly Privately

All $1 Billion $1-4.9 Billion $5 Billion owned held

$0.00 2% 1% 5% 2% – –

$0.01-$2.50 9 10 4 14 10 10

$2.51-$5.00 11 10 9 15 12 7

$5.01-$7.50 17 14 16 20 21 15

$7.51-$10.00 16 17 15 15 17 21

$10.00-$15.00 15 16 19 8 12 18

$15.01-$20.00 9 9 10 7 12 7

$20.01-$25.00 7 7 9 5 5 12

$25.01-$30.00 5 4 4 8 5 3

$30.01-$35.00 2 3 4 – 2 3

$35.01-$40.00 2 4 3 – – 1

$40.01-$50.00 3 3 3 3 4 –

Greater than 50.00 2 2 1 2 1 1

Total responses 247 107 80 59 101 67

Median range $7.51-$10.00 $7.51-$10.00 $10.01-$15.00 $5.01-$7.00 $7.51-$10.00 $7.51-$10.00

The internal costs for initiating wire transactions are somewhat lower than the external costs. The

median overall range is between $5.01 and $7.00. There seem to be less dierence in the internal

costs ranges depending on the size of the organization. The best estimated reported internal cost for

initiating a wire transaction is $6.42 which is at the higher end of the range.

Summary:

Initiating wire transactions

• Reported range of median cost

- External cost range of $7.51—$10.00

- Internal cost range of $5.01—$7.50

• Best estimated median cost

- External cost of $8.00

- Internal cost of $6.42

2015 AFP Payments Cost Benchmarking Survey

The external cost ranges for receiving wire transactions are fairly similar to those for

initiating wires. The overall median external cost range is between $7.51 and $10.00.

Small and large organizations report costs in the lower range of $5.01-to-$7.00. Given this

dierence, for benchmarking purposes it may be more appropriate to use the median best

estimated cost of receiving wire transactions: $7.64.

Calculated Total Transaction INTERNAL Cost (personnel, IT support, etc.) for INITIATING

Wire Payments on a Per Item Basis

(Percentage Distribution of Internal Costs for Initiating Wire Payments)

Best Estimated All-In Costs for INITIATING Wire Payments

Wire Wire

EXTERNAL EXTERNAL

Valid 88 84

Mean $12.06 $9.58

Median $8.00 $6.42

Minimum $0.00 $0.00

Maximum $50.00 $50.00

Revenue Revenue Revenue

Less Than Between At Least Publicly Privately

All $1 Billion $1-4.9 Billion $5 Billion owned held

$0.00 5% 8% 3% 4% 1% 8%

$0.01-$2.50 20 19 20 21 23 15

$2.51-$5.00 13 16 15 6 9 15

$5.01-$7.50 14 12 12 19 22 11

$7.51-$10.00 13 14 8 19 14 15

$10.00-$15.00 10 9 14 6 9 11

$15.01-$20.00 10 7 14 9 11 9

$20.01-$25.00 5 8 5 2 2 8

$25.01-$30.00 4 2 5 8 5 3

$30.01-$35.00 2 4 2 – 2 3

$35.01-$40.00 1 – 2 – – 2

$40.01-$50.00 1 – 2 4 2 –

Greater than 50.00 2 2 – 4 1 2

Total responses 220 101 65 53 93 66

Median range $5.01-$7.50 $5.01-$7.50 $5.01-$7.00 $5.01-$7.00 $5.01-$7.00 $7.51-$10.00

2015 AFP Payments Cost Benchmarking Survey

The overall internal cost for receiving a wire transaction is a somewhat lower median

cost range of $5.01-to-$7.00. However, for large organizations the range is between $7.01

and $10.00. The median best estimated internal cost for receiving a wire transaction is

$4.25, below the reported median range.

Summary:

Receiving wire transactions:

• Reported median cost range

- External cost range of $7.51—$10.00

- Internal cost range of $5.01—$7.50

• Best estimated median cost

- External cost of $7.64

- Internal cost of $4.25

Calculated Total Transaction Cost EXTERNAL (bank fees, etc.) for RECEIVING

Wire Payments on a Per Item Basis

(Percentage Distribution of Total Transactions Costs for Receiving Wire Payments)

Revenue Revenue Revenue

Less Than Between At Least Publicly Privately

All $1 Billion $1-4.9 Billion $5 Billion owned held

$0.00 6% 7% 6% 2% -- 9%

$0.01-$2.50 14 15 6 23 13% 13

$2.51-$5.00 14 16 15 9 16 10

$5.01-$7.50 14 12 14 18 15 12

$7.51-$10.00 18 16 18 23 22 19

$10.00-$15.00 17 19 20 11 18 25

$15.01-$20.00 6 4 8 9 7 6

$20.01-$25.00 4 6 4 2 4 1

$25.01-$30.00 2 2 3 – 1 1

$30.01-$35.00 1 1 3 – – 1

$35.01-$40.00 1 1 3 – – –

$40.01-$50.00 2 1 1 5 3 1

Greater than 50.00 1 1 1 – – –

Total responses 247 109 80 57 97 68

Median range $7.51-$10.00 $5.01-$7.50 $7.51-$10.00 $5.01-$7.50 $7.51-$10.00 $5.01-$7.50

2015 AFP Payments Cost Benchmarking Survey

Calculated Total Transaction INTERNAL Cost (personnel, IT support, etc.) for RECEIVING

Wire Payments on a Per-Item Basis

(Percentage Distribution of Total Transaction Internal Costs for Receiving Wire Payments)

Revenue Revenue Revenue

Less Than Between At Least Publicly Privately

All $1 Billion $1-4.9 Billion $5 Billion owned held

$0.00 8% 13% 3% 5% 2% 13%

$0.01-$2.50 27 24 27 29 29 20

$2.51-$5.00 11 12 16 4 10 14

$5.01-$7.50 11 10 13 9 14 8

$7.51-$10.00 13 13 10 18 16 16

$10.00-$15.00 13 14 13 13 9 20

$15.01-$20.00 8 4 13 9 10 5

$20.01-$25.00 4 4 2 5 5 2

$25.01-$30.00 1 2 – – 2 –

$30.01-$35.00 1 1 3 – – 2

$35.01-$40.00 – – – – – –

$40.01-$50.00 2 – – 7 2 2

Greater than 50.00 – 1 – – – –

Total responses 216 98 62 55 92 64

Median range $5.01-$7.50 $5.01-$7.50 $5.01-$7.50 $7.51-$10.00 $5.01-$7.50 $5.01-$7.50

Best Estimated All-in Costs for RECEIVING Wire Payments

Wire Wire

EXTERNAL EXTERNAL

Valid 74 74

Mean $10.45 $7.67

Median $7.64 $4.25

Minimum $0.05 $0.00

Maximum $100.00 $45.00

2015 AFP Payments Cost Benchmarking Survey

CREDIT CARDS

Organizations use a variety of credit cards for numerous business purposes. As reported in

the 2015 AFP Payments Fraud and Control Survey the use of corporate/commercial cards

for B2B payments has been uctuating over the past couple of years. In the rst two years

of this decade, the use of credit cards for B2B transactions started to gain momentum and

peaked in 2012. However, in the past two years it has declined dramatically. One reason

behind the decline could be related to the large security breaches in late 2012 that height-

ened awareness of the potential for card fraud and the reaction of the card industry to those

breaches. A new and more secure standard is being implemented, EMV or Smart Chip

cards. But that transition is still in progress.

Transaction costs for credit cards have long been debated—interchange and assessment

fees especially in recent years. The increased cost and handling of PCI compliance are also

notable factors. In addition, the complexities of interchange and the various qualication

methodologies of how transactions are received can play a role when considering credit card

payments. While merchants are naturally looking to minimize their costs, at the same time

they realize they need to accept card transactions in order to maintain their businesses.

For a majority of organizations (56 percent), their typical incoming credit card transaction

is less than $300 and only eight percent report their average size of incoming credit card

transactions is greater than $10,000. Larger organizations with annual revenue of at least

$5 billion and publicly owned companies have a larger share of transactions less than $25

compared to other companies.

2015 AFP Payments Fraud

and Control Survey

www.afponline.org/fraud/

2015 AFP

Payments Fraud

and Control Survey

REPORT OF SURVEY RESULTS

Underwritten by

Approximate Average Size of the Typical INCOMING Credit Card Transaction on a Per Item Basis

(Percentage Distribution of Average Size of Incoming Credit Card Transactions)

Revenue Revenue Revenue

Less Than Between At Least Publicly Privately

All $1 Billion $1-4.9 Billion $5 Billion owned held

Less than $25 16% 17% 7% 22% 20% 15%

$25-$49 7 8 7 6 4 5

$50 -$99 9 5 13 10 11 6

$100- $199 12 13 11 12 11 13

$200-$299 12 16 7 10 6 19

$300 - $499 7 7 9 6 8 2

$500 - $699 7 8 9 2 5 6

$700 - $999 4 5 4 2 4 5

$1,000- $1,499 9 8 11 10 9 13

$1,500 - $1,999 1 – 2 2 2 –

$2,000- $2,999 2 1 4 2 4 –

$3,000 - $4,999 3 3 4 2 4 3

$5,000 - $9,999 2 1 4 2 2 3

Greater than $10,000 8 8 7 10 10 10

Total responses 195 92 54 49 81 62

Median Range $200-$299 $200-$299 $300-$499 $200-$299 $200-$299 $200-$299

The external median cost range for receiving credit card transactions (including issuer/

acquirer/processor interchange, assessment, monthly fees, etc.) is between 1.50% and

1.99% per transaction. This range is fairly consistent for organizations of dierent sizes with

the exception of smaller ones for which the range is reported as 1.00%-to-1.49%.

2015 AFP Payments Cost Benchmarking Survey

The internal median cost range—which includes costs for personnel, IT Technology, PCI

DSS Compliance, etc.—for receiving credit card transactions is 0.50%-to- 0.99% per trans-

action. For smaller organizations this cost range is somewhat higher at 1.00%-to-1.49%.

Calculated EXTERNAL costs (including issuer/acquirer/processor interchange, assessment,

monthly fees, etc.) for Receiving Credit Card Transactions as a Percentage per Transaction

(Percentage Distribution of External Costs for Receiving Credit Card Transactions)

Revenue Revenue Revenue

Less Than Between At Least Publicly Privately

All $1 Billion $1-4.9 Billion $5 Billion owned held

Less than 0.50% 20% 21% 17% 20% 19% 16%

0.50% - 0.99% 12 16 9 9 14 13

1.00% - 1.49% 13 14 15 9 16 9

1.50%-1.99% 14 9 17 22 15 14

2.00%-2.49% 13 15 13 11 8 18

2.50%-2.99% 16 16 13 17 11 16

3.00%-3.49% 7 6 11 4 10 11

3.50%-3.99% 4 2 4 7 4 2

Greater than 4% 2 1 2 2 3 2

Total responses 174 81 47 46 73 56

Median Range 1.50%-1.99% 1.00%-1.49% 1.50%-1.99% 1.50%-1.99% 1.50%-1.99% 1.50%-1.99%

Calculated INTERNAL Costs (including personnel, IT technology, PCI DSS compliance, etc.)

for Receiving Credit Card Transactions as a Percentage per Transaction

(Percentage Distribution of Internal Costs for Receiving Credit Card Transactions)

Revenue Revenue Revenue

Less Than Between At Least Publicly Privately

All $1 Billion $1-4.9 Billion $5 Billion owned held

Less than 0.50% 34% 34% 33% 34% 32% 34%

0.50% - 0.99% 21 14 28 17 19 19

1.00% - 1.49% 13 13 14 10 11 15

1.50%-1.99% 13 16 5 17 19 11

2.00%-2.49% 7 7 7 7 6 6

2.50%-2.99% 3 1 2 5 3 2

3.00%-3.49% 4 3 7 2 3 4

3.50%-3.99% 4 3 2 7 3 8

Greater than 4% 3 5 2 – 2 2

Total responses 160 76 43 41 62 53

Median Range 0.50% - 0.99% 1.00% - 1.49% 0.50% - 0.99% 0.50% - 0.99% 0.50% - 0.99% 0.50% - 0.99%

Summary:

Receiving credit card transactions

• Reported total external median cost range of 1.50%—1.99%

• Reported total internal median cost range of 0.50%—0.99%

2015 AFP Payments Cost Benchmarking Survey

DEBIT CARDS

Unlike credit cards, debit cards provide the holders electronic access to their bank

accounts at their nancial institution(s). Payments are immediately transferred from a

bank account instead of being paid at a later date. Debit cards can be either domestic or

international and can also be used to withdraw funds from bank accounts through ATM

networks. Typically, debit cards are used primarily by consumers and therefore aect the

retail industry more than other sectors.

The payments cost calculations for debit cards dier from those for credit cards due to

new regulatory rules. The Durbin Amendment—part of the Dodd-Frank Financial Reform

Act—requires the Federal Reserve to limit fees charged to retailers for debit card processing

and caps the interchange and assessment cost for accepting debit card payments. That

cap is set at 21 cents plus 1 cent for fraud prevention adjustment. There is an additional

fee of 0.05 percent of the transaction value. Consequently, the cost for debit card

transactions—again measured as a percentage per transaction—diers depending on the

size of the transaction.

Since the cost for debit card transactions is capped, it is not surprising that organizations

report lower external cost ranges. The median external cost range—including issuer/

acquirer/processor interchange, assessment, monthly fees, etc.—is 1.00%-to-1.49% per

transaction. There are no dierences based on organization size. The median internal cost

range (including personnel, IT Technology, PCI DSS Compliance, etc.) is 0.50%-to-0.99%

per transaction, with a lower range of less than 0.50% for smaller organizations.

Summary:

Receiving debit card transactions

• Reported total external median cost range of 1.00%—1.49%

• Reported total internal median cost range of 0.50%—0.99%

Calculated EXTERNAL Costs (including issuer/acquirer/processor interchange, assessment,

monthly fees, etc.) for Receiving Debit Card Transactions as a Percentage per Transaction

(Percentage Distribution of External Costs for Receiving Debit Card Transactions)

Revenue Revenue Revenue

Less Than Between At Least Publicly Privately

All $1 Billion $1-4.9 Billion $5 Billion owned held

Less than 0.50% 34% 33% 39% 31% 38% 22%

0.50% - 0.99% 10 13 – 14 8 17

1.00% - 1.49% 13 12 11 17 13 14

1.50%-1.99% 15 15 11 17 15 14

2.00%-2.49% 9 10 14 6 9 14

2.50%-2.99% 9 12 11 6 4 14

3.00%-3.49% 5 4 7 6 9 3

3.50%-3.99% 3 2 4 3 4 –

Greater than 4% 2 – 4 3 2 3

Total responses 116 52 28 36 47 36

Median Range 1.00% - 1.49% 1.00% - 1.49% 1.00% - 1.49% 1.00% - 1.49% 1.00% - 1.49% 1.00% - 1.49%

2015 AFP Payments Cost Benchmarking Survey

Calculated INTERNAL Costs (including personnel, IT technology, PCI DSS compliance, etc.)

for Receiving Debit Card Transactions as a Percentage per Transaction

(Percentage Distribution of Internal Costs for Receiving Debit Card Transactions)

Revenue Revenue Revenue

Less Than Between At Least Publicly Privately

All $1 Billion $1-4.9 Billion $5 Billion owned held

Less than 0.50% 46% 51% 41% 43% 47% 51%

0.50% - 0.99% 14 14 21 9 7 11

1.00% - 1.49% 13 12 17 11 13 14

1.50%-1.99% 10 8 3 17 16 9

2.00%-2.49% 7 8 7 9 9 3

2.50%-2.99% 3 4 – 3 2 –

3.00%-3.49% 3 2 7 3 2 3

3.50%-3.99% 4 4 3 6 4 9

Greater than 4% – – – – – –

Total responses 115 51 29 35 45 35

Median Range 0.50%- 0.99% Less than 0.50% 0.50%- 0.99% 0.50%- 0.99% 0.50%- 0.99% Less than 0.50%

2015 AFP Payments Cost Benchmarking Survey

PURCHASING CARD TRANSACTIONS

Purchasing cards—including Procurement, Travel and Entertainment (T&E) and Virtual

cards—have typically been used by organizations for lower-value goods and services.

However, in recent years the use of purchasing cards has increased dramatically, even

expanding into areas where paper checks have traditionally been used and thus eliminating the

need to process checks. In some cases purchasing cards have become part of the overall

disbursement strategy for organizations; those companies recognize the potential benets

of electronic statements rather than purchase orders and the opportunity to capture any

rebates associated with this payment method.

For two-thirds (64 percent) of organizations, the transaction cost for outgoing card

payments made via a purchasing card is less than $2.00. The median range is $1.00-to-

$1.99 for all segments. A greater share of smaller organizations (with annual revenues less

than $1 billion) than larger ones (annual revenues of at least $5 billion) report per transaction

costs via such cards card range from $2.00 to $10.00 (39 percent versus 29 percent,

respectively). Organizations with larger operations benet from economies of scale and

thus can spread their costs more eciently than can smaller ones.

Total Calculated cost for OUTGOING Payments Made (including personnel, IT technology, compliance,

Audit, etc.) via a Card (Procurement, T&E and Virtual) Per Transaction

(Percentage Distribution of Outgoing Purchasing Card Payments)

Revenue Revenue Revenue

Less Than Between At Least Publicly Privately

All $1 Billion $1-4.9 Billion $5 Billion owned held

Less than $1.00 34% 36% 31% 32% 31% 31%

$1.00-$1.99 30 25 33 39 31 33

$2.00-$3.99 22 26 22 11 22 22

$4.00 -$5.99 7 6 3 11 6 3

$6.00 -$10 8 7 10 7 10 10

Total responses 199 97 58 44 83 63

Median Range $1.00-$1.99 $1.00-$1.99 $1.00-$1.99 $1.00-$1.99 $1.00-$1.99 $1.00-$1.99

Summary:

Transaction Costs for Outgoing Card Payments

• Reported median cost range $1.00—$1.99

2015 AFP Payments Cost Benchmarking Survey

REBATES

One incentive for using cards is the potential for earning rebates. Factors that typically

determine the size of rebates are the purchasing volume and the speed of payment to the

card issuer. The full scope of the card program, including the annual cost, reporting,

remittance and other technological capabilities should be taken into consideration.

A majority of organizations (55 percent) are awarded rebates on their annual card spend.

They range from 10 to 50 basis points (bps). However, the median range is reported at

26-to-50 bps for smaller organizations and 51-to-75 bps for larger organizations with

annual revenues of over $1 billion. Only six percent of organizations receive rebates of

greater than 150 bps.

Reported Rebates Awarded on Annual Card Spend

(Percentage Distribution of Organizations)

Revenue Revenue Revenue

Less Than Between At Least Publicly Privately

All $1 Billion $1-4.9 Billion $5 Billion owned held

10-25 bps 34% 43% 27% 21% 30% 33%

26-50 bps 21 20 20 23 20 23

51-75 bps 12 12 7 19 15 13

76-100 bps 10 10 11 7 9 12

101-125 bps 9 8 11 9 4 15

126-150 bps 9 3 13 14 11 3

More than 150 bps 6 3 11 7 11 –

Total responses 188 90 55 43 80 60

Median Range 26-50 bps 26-50 bps 51-75 bps 51-75 bps 26-50 bps 51-75 bps

2015 AFP Payments Cost Benchmarking Survey

SHIFTING FROM PAPER CHECKS TO ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS

Nearly 80 percent of organizations are currently in the process of transitioning their B2B

payments from paper checks to electronic payments. A greater share of companies with annual

revenues of at least $1 billion is doing so than smaller companies. Depending on the approach

selected, transitioning to electronic payment methods may require a signicant nancial

investment; those organizations with larger operations will be able to spread the costs of such

an outlay more eciently than will smaller companies, and so may be more inclined to make

the shift to electronic payments.

Currently Moving Business to Business (B2B) Payments Away from Paper Check to

Electronic Payment Methods

(Percentage Distribution of Organizations)

Revenue Revenue Revenue

Less Than Between At Least Publicly Privately

All $1 Billion $1-4.9 Billion $5 Billion owned held

Yes 79% 76% 84% 80% 83% 81%

No 21 24 16 20 17 19

Total 246 113 73 60 105 79

More than two out of three nance professionals report that their organizations would replace

paper checks with electronic payments if there was a cost benet of doing so. More than one-third of

organizations would shift to electronic payments if the cost savings was 10 percent; an additional 32

percent would move to electronic payments if the cost savings was greater than 10 percent.

While results are consistent across organization size categories, they dier based on owner-

ship type. Nearly half of nance professionals from publicly owned companies (46 percent)

indicate they would consider replacing paper checks with electronic payments with up to a

10 percent cost benet. This is not surprising as publicly owned companies are more sensitive to

costs. Only 25 percent plan to continue using checks regardless of costs. One-third of privately

held organizations would continue to use checks regardless of costs, but 37 percent would

transition if checks saved them at least 10 percent.

It is worth noting that 32 percent of all organizations would continue to use checks regardless

of any cost savings. While 21 percent indicate they are not making an eort to transition B2B

payments from paper checks to electronic alternatives, they are also likely to be unaected by

increased costs for handling and processing checks.

Replacing Paper Checks with Electronic Payment Methods

(Percentage Distribution of Organizations)

Revenue Revenue Revenue

Less Than Between At Least Publicly Privately

All $1 Billion $1-4.9 Billion $5 Billion owned held

Regardless of costs, we will continue to use paper checks

32% 34% 30% 31% 25% 33%

Electronic Payments up to 10% less expensive than paper checks

36 36 37 36 46 37

Electronic Payments 11 - 20% less expensive than paper checks

13 17 9 11 11 12

Electronic Payments over 20% less expensive

19 14 24 22 19 18

Total responses

229 107 67 55 94 76

2015 AFP Payments Cost Benchmarking Survey

A vast majority of nance professionals (88 percent) cite increased eciency as the primary

reason for transitioning to electronic payments from paper checks; 82 percent would make

the shift to minimize costs. They are understandably concerned about the uptick in fraud

impacting organizations globally and three out of ve would move to electronic payments

to prevent fraud. Given how prone paper checks are to fraud, this number is still somewhat

on the lower end.

Primary Reason for Moving Away from Paper Checks to Electronic Payment Methods

(Percent of Organizations)

Revenue Revenue Revenue

Less Than Between At Least Publicly Privately

All $1 Billion $1-4.9 Billion $5 Billion owned held

Increase efﬁciency

88% 37% 43% 42% 75% 77%

Reduce cost

82 35 38 42 75 72

Fraud prevention

60 23 31 31 55 49

Facilitate Straight-Through-Processing

38 14 22 19 34 34

Enhance Remittance Information Handling

34 12 18 19 29 27

Total responses

232 247 146 119 118 86

2015 AFP Payments Cost Benchmarking Survey

CONCLUSION

Determining the costs of making payments can be very challenging. Dierent businesses use

dierent methods and calculations. Often arbitrary values are used to calculate the costs of

dierent payment methods. Sometimes organizations only consider tangible items like postage

and paper, and neglect to consider time, positive pay, escheatment tracking, etc. Indeed, it has

been dicult for organizations to know what their true payment costs have been, especially

compared to those of their peers.

This inaugural AFP Payments Cost Benchmarking Survey was conducted in order to more

accurately determine what the costs are for dierent payment methods. All surveys present

challenges (for example, limitation on the number of questions to obtain a large enough sample

size), and the payments cost survey was no dierent. Because the limited number of questions

may oversimplify or “merge” some variables aecting payment method costs, the conclusions

from the survey data are reported mostly in the form of cost ranges.

In order to obtain cost estimates that can be used for benchmarking purposes, some assump-

tions have been made. These assumptions include combining external and internal costs by

simply adding the survey results. The results of such practice may be somewhat skewed, but may

still provide a more manageable number when comparing costs for dierent payment methods.

Key Takeaways:

Initiating paper checks

• Total median cost range mid-point of $3.00; best estimated median cost of $3.00

Receiving paper checks

• Total median cost range mid-point of $1.51 ($1.505); best estimated median cost of $1.57

Initiating and Receiving ACH transactions

• Reported median total cost range

- ACH Credit External median cost: $0.26—$0.50

- ACH Credit Internal median cost $0.11—$0.25

- ACH Debit External median cost: $0.11—$0.25

- ACH Debit Internal median cost: $0.11—$0.25

Initiating wire transactions

• Reported range of median cost

- External cost $7.51—$10.00

- Internal cost $5.01—$7.00

• Best estimated median cost

- External cost of $8.00

- Internal cost of $6.42

Receiving wire transactions

• Reported median cost range

- External cost range of $7.51—$10.00

- Internal cost range of $5.01—$7.50

• Best estimated median cost

- External cost of $7.64

- Internal cost of $4.25

Receiving credit card transactions

• Reported total external median cost range of 1.50%—1.99%

• Reported total internal median cost range of 0.50%—0.99%

Receiving debit card transactions

• Reported total external median cost range of 1.00%—1.49%

• Reported total internal median cost range of 0.50%—0.99%

2015 AFP Payments Cost Benchmarking Survey

Additional ﬁndings

• Nearly 80 percent of organizations are currently in the process of transitioning their

B2B payments from paper checks to electronic payments.

• More than two out of three nance professionals report that their organizations would

replace paper checks with electronic payments if there was a cost benet of doing so.

• A vast majority of nance professionals (88 percent) cite increased eciency as the

primary reason for transitioning to electronic payments from paper checks

It is clear that the use of paper checks is a more expensive payment method than

electronic alternatives such as ACH. At the same time the cost of wire transactions is much

higher than other electronic methods, although it varies considerably depending on bank

relationships and product packages. Overall, wires do seem to be a fairly expensive

alternative, but is a very useful payment method when speed is essential. The use of credit

and debit cards can be convenient for organizations, but since the costs of card transactions

are reported as percentages, comparisons are dicult. The median external cost for

receiving a credit card transaction ranges from 1.50% to 1.99% while the range for debit

cards is 0.50%-to-0.99%. The cost of using purchasing cards ranges from $1.00 to $1.99

for all categories. The mid-point of $1.50 may therefore be appropriate to use for these

transactions. This could possibly facilitate the move of some payments away from checks

to electronic payments, assuming vendors support such a transition.

When making cost comparisons among dierent payment methods it is important to

consider the natural limitation of survey data and analysis, as well as organization-specic

conditions that may aect the nal outcome. Even so, the results of this initial AFP Payments

Cost Benchmarking Survey provides some detailed information treasury and other nance

professionals can use as they continue to improve payment processes at their organizations.

2015 AFP Payments Cost Benchmarking Survey

ABOUT THE SURVEY

In April 2015, the Association for Financial Professionals

(AFP) conducted its inaugural

2015 AFP Payments Cost Benchmarking Survey. The survey gathered cost information about

key payment methods to facilitate accurate benchmarking. AFP received 286 responses from its

corporate practitioner members. After adjusting for undelivered emails, the response rate was

approximately six percent. An additional 248 responses were received from corporate practitioners

who are not AFP members. The combined 534 responses are the basis of this report.

AFP thanks Bottomline Technologies for its underwriting support of the 2015 AFP Payments

Cost Benchmarking Survey. The survey questionnaire and report were produced by the Research

Department of the Association for Financial Professionals, and is solely responsible for the

content of the report.

The following tables summarize the characteristics of the survey respondents’ organizations

where organization-level demographics are provided.

Role of Business

(Percentage Distribution of Organizations)

Revenue Revenue Revenue

Less Than Between At Least Publicly Privately

All $1 Billion $1-4.9 Billion $5 Billion owned held

Headquarters

75% 76% 76% 72% 79% 76%

Shared services center/centralized processing center

15 12 18 19 12 16

Manufacturing/operating/business unit

9 12 6 9 9 8

Industry Sector

(Percentage Distribution of Organizations)

Number of Employees at Organization

(Percentage Distribution of Organizations)

Organization’s Total Annual Revenue (USD)

(Percentage Distribution of Organizations)

Type of Ownership

(Percentage Distribution of Organizations)

1-49 3%

50-99 3

100-249 7

250-499 9

500-999 12

1000-4999 33

5000-9999 10

10,000 or more 24

Banking/Financial Services 12%

Business services/Consulting 6

Construction 1

Energy (including utilities) 10

Government 6

Health services 7

Hospitality/Travel 3

Insurance 9

Manufacturing 20

Non-proﬁt (including education) 5

Real estate 2

Retail (including wholesale/distribution) 11

Software/Technology 2

Telecommunications/Media 1

Transportation 1

Less than $50 million 15%

$50 - 99.9 million 1

$100 - $249.9 million 8

$250 - $499.9 million 11

$500 - $999.9 million 13

$1 - $ 4.9 billion 29

$5 - $9.9 billion 9

$10 - 20 billion 6

Greater than $20 billion 8

Publicly owned 44%

Privately held 32

Not-for-proﬁt 16

Government 8

2015 AFP Payments Cost Benchmarking Survey

APPENDIX

Number of INCOMING Payments (Checks) per month and Costs incurred for RECEIVING Paper Checks

(Percentage Distribution of Transaction Volume of Incoming Check Payments)

Less than 100- 500- 1,000- 2,000- 5,000- 10,000- Greater than

100 499 999 1,999 4,999 9,999 19,999 20,000

$0.00 5% 6% – – – – – 3%

$0.01-$0.50 23% 13% 19% 11% 7% 15% 24% 32%

$0.51-$1.00 10% 30% 26% 14% 15% 25% 19% 18%

$1.01-$2.00 21% 11% 19% 14% 22% 30% 14% 14%

$2.01-$4.00 10% 15% 22% 20% 22% 15% 19% 11%

$4.01-$6.00 16% 9% 7% 20% 11% 5% 10% 6%

$6.01-$10.00 10% 7% 4% 6% 11% – 5% 5%

$10.01-$14.00 3% 4% – 9% – 5% – 2%

$14.01-$18.00 2% – – – 4% – – 2%

$18.01-$22.00 – – 4% – – – – –

$22.01-$26.00 2% 2% – 3% – – 5% 6%

Greater than

$26.00 – 4% – 3% 7% 5% 5% 3%

Total 62 54 27 35 27 20 21 66

Median $1.01-$2.00 $1.01-$2.00 $1.01-$2.00 $2.01-$4.00 $2.01-$4.00 $1.01-$2.00 $1.01-$2.00 $0.51-$1.00

Number of OUTGOING Payments (Checks) per month and Costs incurred for ISSUING Paper Checks

(Percentage Distribution of Transaction Volume of Outgoing Check Payments)

Less than 100- 500- 1,000- 2,000- 5,000- 10,000- Greater than

100 499 999 1,999 4,999 9,999 19,999 20,000

$0.00 – – – 5% – – – 2%

$0.01-$0.50 3% 12% 6% 14% 11% 8% 10% 13%

$0.51-$1.00 29% 14% 6% 14% 19% 32% 7% 13%

$1.01-$2.00 13% 22% 21% 11% 16% 12% 13% 17%

$2.01-$4.00 10% 14% 25% 16% 14% 16% 17% 13%

$4.01-$6.00 13% 8% 13% 14% 11% 16% 10% 11%

$6.01-$10.00 16% 12% 17% 14% 11% 4% 3% 11%

$10.01-$14.00 13% 4% 4% 2% 5% – – –

$14.01-$18.00 – 6% – 5% 3% – 7% 2%

$18.01-$22.00 3% 2% 4% 5% 5% – – 2%

$22.01-$26.00 – 2% 4% – 5% – – 11%

Greater than

$26.00 – 4% – 2% – 12% 33% 6%

Total 31 50 48 44 37 25 30 47

Median $2.01-$4.00 $2.01-$4.00 $2.01-$4.00 $2.01-$4.00 $2.01-$4.00 $1.01-$2.00 $2.01-$4.00 $2.01-$4.00

2015 AFP Payments Cost Benchmarking Survey

EXTERNAL Costs for Receiving Wire Payments on a per item basis and Incoming Wire Payments

(Percentage Distribution of Transaction Volume of Incoming Wire Payments)

INTERNAL Costs for Receiving Wire Payments on a per item basis and Incoming Wire Payments

(Percentage Distribution of Transaction Volume of Incoming Wire Payments)

Less than 100- 500- 1,000- 2,000- 5,000- 10,000- Greater than

100 499 999 1,999 4,999 9,999 19,999 20,000

$0.00 12% 4% 6% 8% 8% – – –

$0.01-$2.50 23% 31% 31% 42% 25% 13% 33% 19%

$2.51-$5.00 10% 15% 6% 8% 17% 13% – 6%

$5.01-$7.50 7% 18% – 8% 8% 13% 17% 13%

$7.51-$10.00 18% 7% 13% – 8% 13% – 13%

$10.01-$15.00 14% 20% 6% – – 13% – 19%

$15.01-$20.00 9% 4% 19% 17% 17% 13% 17% 6%

$20.01-$25.00 2% – 6% 17% 8% 13% 17% 19%

$25.01-$30.00 2% – – – – – – –

$30.01-$35.00 1% – – – 8% 13% – –

$35.01-$40.00 – – – – – – – –

$40.01-$50.00 1% 2% 6% – – – 17% –

Greater than

$50.00 – – 6% – – – – 6%

Total 90 55 16 12 12 8 6 16

Median $5.01-$7.50 $2.51-$5.00 $7.51-$10.00 $0.01-$2.50 $2.51-$5.00 $7.51-$10.00 $5.01-$7.50 $7.51-$10.00

Less than 100- 500- 1,000- 2,000- 5,000- 10,000- Greater than

100 499 999 1,999 4,999 9,999 19,999 20,000

$0.00 6% 2% 11% – – – – 6%

$0.01-$2.50 10% 19% 17% 23% 8% 13% 17% 19%

$2.51-$5.00 14% 12% 33% 8% 23% 22% 17% 6%

$5.01-$7.50 10% 15% – 31% 15% 13% 17% 25%

$7.51-$10.00 24% 15% 6% 15% 38% 13% – 6%

$10.01-$15.00 21% 25% 11% 8% 8% 26% 17% 19%

$15.01-$20.00 7% 7% 11% 8% – – – –

$20.01-$25.00 3% – 6% 8% – – 17% 13%

$25.01-$30.00 2% 2% – – – – – –

$30.01-$35.00 1% – – – – 13% – –

$35.01-$40.00 1% – – – 8% – – –

$40.01-$50.00 – 3% 6% – – – 17% –

Greater than

$50.00 – – – – – – – 6%

Total 97 59 18 13 13 8 6 16

Median $7.51-$10 $7.51-$10.00 $2.51-$5.00 $5.01-$7.50 $7.51-$10.00 $7.51-$10.00 $5.01-$7.50 $5.01-$7.50

2015 AFP Payments Cost Benchmarking Survey

EXTERNAL Costs for Initiating Wire Payments on a per item basis and Outgoing Wire Payments

(Percentage Distribution of Transaction Volume of Outgoing Wire Payments)

INTERNAL Costs for Initiating Wire Payments on a per Item Basis and Outgoing Wire Payments

(Percentage Distribution of Transaction Volume of Outgoing Wire Payments)

Less than 100- 500- 1,000- 2,000- 5,000- 10,000- Greater than

100 499 999 1,999 4,999 9,999 19,999 20,000

$0.00 8% 4% 4% – – – – –

$0.01-$2.50 17% 25% 12% 44% 25% – 50% 21%

$2.51-$5.00 13% 13% 16% 11% 13% 33% – 14%

$5.01-$7.50 9% 18% 16% 22% – – – 21%

$7.51-$10.00 14% 16% 4% 11% 38% – – 7%

$10.01-$15.00 15% 2% 8% – 13% 33% – 14%

$15.01-$20.00 9% 13% 16% – 13% – – –

$20.01-$25.00 5% 2% 8% – – – – 7%

$25.01-$30.00 5% 4% 4% – – – 50% –

$30.01-$35.00 4% 2% – 11% – 33% – –

$35.01-$40.00 1% – – – – – – –

$40.01-$50.00 – 2% 8% – – – – –

Greater than

$50.00 – 2% 4% – – – – 14%

Total 93 56 25 9 8 3 2 14

Median $7.51-$10.00 $5.01-$7.50 $7.51-$10.00 $2.51-$5.00 $7.51-$10.00 $10.01-$15.00 $0.01-$2.50 $5.01-$7.50

Less than 100- 500- 1,000- 2,000- 5,000- 10,000- Greater than

100 499 999 1,999 4,999 9,999 19,999 20,000

$0.00 2% 2% – 8% – – – –

$0.01-$2.50 6% 13% 11% 33% – – 20% –

$2.51-$5.00 9% 7% 19% 8% 33% 33% – 14%

$5.01-$7.50 13% 17% 19% 25% – – 20% 36%

$7.51-$10.00 17% 25% 7% 8% 22% – – –

$10.01-$15.00 22% 13% 15% 8% 22% – 20% 14%

$15.01-$20.00 10% 8% 11% – 22% 33% – 7%

$20.01-$25.00 6% 10% 4% – – – – 14%

$25.01-$30.00 6% 2% 4% – – – 40% –

$30.01-$35.00 2% 2% – – – 33% – –

$35.01-$40.00 4% – – – – – – –

$40.01-$50.00 2% 2% 7% – – – – –

Greater than

$50.00 – – 4% – – – – 14%

Total 93 60 27 12 9 3 5 14

Median $10.01-$15 $7.51-$10.00 $7.51-$10.00 $5.01-$7.50 $7.51-$10.00 $15.01-$20.00 $10.01-$15.00 $5.01-$7.50

2015 AFP Payments Cost Benchmarking Survey

INCOMING Payments (Credit Card) Handled per month by Average Size of Typical INCOMING

Credit Card Transaction

(Percentage Distribution of Transaction Volume of Incoming Credit Card Payments)

Number of INCOMING Payments by calculated EXTERNAL costs for receiving Credit Cards

Transactions as a Percentage per Transaction

(Percentage Distribution of Transaction Volume of Incoming Credit Card Payments)

Less than 100- 500- 1,000- 2,000- 5,000- 10,000- Greater than

100 499 999 1,999 4,999 9,999 19,999 20,000

Less than

0.50% 21% 15% 9% 25% 22% 10% 9% 10%

0.50%-0.99% 19% 10% 9% 13% – 10% 18% 10%

1.00%-1.49% 9% 15% – 13% – 10% 27% 23%

1.50%-1.99% 17% 15% 9% – 11% 10% 9% 23%

2.00%-2.49% 13% 5% 27% 13% 22% 40% 9% 10%

2.50%-2.99% 13% 10% 18% 25% 33% 20% 27% 20%

3.00%-3.49% 4% 10% 18% 13% 11% – – –

3.50%-3.99% 2% 20% – – – – – 3%

Greater than

4.00% 2% – 9% – – – – –

Total 47 20 11 8 9 10 11 30

Median 1.50%-1.99% 1.50%-1.99% 2.00%-2.49% 1.00%-1.49% 2.00%-2.49% 2.00%-2.49% 1.00%-1.49% 1.50%-1.99%

Less than 100- 500- 1,000- 2,000- 5,000- 10,000- Greater than

100 499 999 1,999 4,999 9,999 19,999 20,000

Less than $25 17% – – – 11% – 8% 6%

$25-$49 4% 5% 8% 13% 22% 10% 17% 16%

$50-$99 4% – 8% – 22% 20% 17% 16%

$100-$199 12% 10% – – – 10% 17% 38%

$200-$299 8% 10% 25% 38% 11% 30% 8% –

$300-$499 6% 10% 8% 25% 11% – 8% 9%

$500-$699 6% 15% 17% 13% 11% 10% – 3%

$700-$999 6% – 17% – – – 17% –

$1,000-$1,499 15% 20% – 13% 11% – – 3%

$1,500-$1,999 – 5% – – – – 8% –

$2,000-$2,999 6% 5% – – – – – –

$3,000-$4,999 2% 10% 8% – – – – –

$5,000-$9,999 4% – 8% – – 10% – –

Greater than

$10,000 12% 10% – – – 10% – 9%

Total 52 20 12 8 9 10 12 32

Median $200-$299 $500-$699 $500-$699 $200-$299 $50-$99 $200-$299 $100-$199 $100-$199

2015 AFP Payments Cost Benchmarking Survey

Number of INCOMING Payments by Calculated INTERNAL Costs for Receiving Credit Cards

Transactions as a Percentage per Transaction

(Percentage Distribution of Transaction Volume of Incoming Credit Card Payments)

Less than 100- 500- 1,000- 2,000- 5,000- 10,000- Greater than

100 499 999 1,999 4,999 9,999 19,999 20,000

Less than

0.50% 33% 26% 18% 25% 44% 38% 20% 35%

0.50%-0.99% 22% 11% 9% 63% 22% 25% 50% 12%

1.00%-1.49% 12% 16% 18% – 11% 38% – 19%

1.50%-1.99% 14% 16% 27% – 11% – 10% 19%

2.00%-2.49% 12% 5% – – 11% – 10% 4%

2.50%-2.99% – 5% – – – – 10% 4%

3.00%-3.49% 2% 11% 9% 13% – – – –

3.50%-3.99% 4% 5% – – – – – 4%

Greater than

4.00% – 5% 18% – – – – 4%

Total 49 19 11 8 9 8 10 26

Median

0.50%-0.99%

1.00%-1.49%

1.50%-1.99% 0.50%-0.99% 0.50%-0.99% 0.50%-0.99% 0.50%-0.99% 1.00%-1.49%

Number of INCOMING Payments by Calculated EXTERNAL Costs for Receiving

Debit Card Transactions as a Percentage per Transaction

(Percentage Distribution of Transaction Volume of Incoming Debit Card Payments)

Less than 100- 500- 1,000- 2,000- 5,000- 10,000- Greater than

100 499 999 1,999 4,999 9,999 19,999 20,000

Less than

0.50% 48% 38% 20% – 20% 33% 20% 29%

0.50%-0.99% 12% 13% – 40% 20% – 40% 21%

1.00%-1.49% 3% 13% 40% - 20% 17% 20% 14%

1.50%-1.99% 18% – 20% 20% 40% – – 14%

2.00%-2.49% 12% – – 20% – 33% – 7%

2.50%-2.99% – 13% 20% – – 17% 20% 14%

3.00%-3.49% 3% – – 20% – – – –

3.50%-3.99% 3% 25% – – – – – –

Greater than

4.00% – – – – – – – –

Total 33 8 5 5 5 6 5 14

Median

0.50%-0.99% 0.50%-0.99% 1.00%-1.49% 1.50%-1.99% 1.00%-1.49% 1.00%-1.49% 0.50%-0.99% 0.50%-0.99%

2015 AFP Payments Cost Benchmarking Survey

Number of INCOMING Payments, Calculated INTERNAL Costs for Receiving Debit Card Transactions

as a Percentage per Transaction

(Percentage Distribution of Transaction Volume of Incoming Debit Card Payments)

Less than 100- 500- 1,000- 2,000- 5,000- 10,000- Greater than

100 499 999 1,999 4,999 9,999 19,999 20,000

Less than

0.50% 48% 25% 20% 20% 50% 50% 40% 54%

0.50%-0.99% 15% 25% 20% 20% 25% 33% 40% 8%

1.00%-1.49% 18% 13% 20% 20% 25% 17% – 8%

1.50%-1.99% 9% 13% 20% – – – 20% 23%

2.00%-2.49% 3% 13% 20% – – – – –

2.50%-2.99% – 13% – 20% – – – –

3.00%-3.49% – – – 20% – – – –

3.50%-3.99% 6% – – – – – – 8%

Greater than

4.00% – – – – – – – –

Total 33 8 5 5 4 6 5 13

Median

0.50%-0.99% 0.50%-0.99% 1.00%-1.49% 1.00%-1.49% 1.00%-1.49% 1.00%-1.49% 0.50%-0.99% Less than 0.50%

AFP Research

AFP Research provides nancial professionals with proprietary and timely research that

drives business performance. AFP Research draws on the knowledge of the Association’s

members and its subject matter experts in areas that include bank relationship management,

risk management, payments, and nancial accounting and reporting. Studies report on

a variety of topics, including AFP’s annual compensation survey, are available online at

www.AFPonline.org/research.

About the Association for Financial Professionals

Headquartered outside Washington, D.C., the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP)

is the professional society that represents nance executives globally. AFP established and

administers the Certied Treasury Professional

and Certied Corporate FP&A Professional

credentials, which set standards of excellence in nance. The quarterly AFP Corporate

Cash Indicators

serve as a bellwether of economic growth. The AFP Annual Conference

is the largest networking event for corporate nance professionals in the world.

AFP, Association for Financial Professionals, Certied Treasury Professional, and

Certied Corporate Financial Planning & Analysis Professional are registered trademarks

of the Association for Financial Professionals.

2015 Association for Financial

General Inquiries AFP@AFPonline.org

Web Site www.AFPonline.org

Phone 301.907.2862

2015 AFP Payments Cost Benchmark Survey

For more than 25 years, leading

organizations have partnered with

Bottomline to eliminate obstacles

to payment automation and achieve

their goals for efciency, cost

reduction and fraud prevention.

Where are you?

According to AFP, nearly 80%

of organizations are in various

phases of an electronic

payments project.

800.243.2528 [email protected] www.bottomline.com