Fair Value and Investment Securities

Financial Instruments - Recurring Measurements

The Company classifies its fair value measurements of financial instruments into a three-level hierarchy (the “Valuation Hierarchy”). There were no transfers made among the three levels in the Valuation Hierarchy for 2016.

The distribution of the Company’s financial instruments which are measured at fair value on a recurring basis within the Valuation Hierarchy was as follows:



	December 31, 2016
	Quoted Prices in Active Markets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)		Fair Value
	(in millions)
Municipal securities	$	—	$	59	$	—	$	59
Government and agency securities¹	49		117		—		166
Corporate securities	—		855		—		855
Asset-backed securities	—		80		—		80
Other	2		16		—		18
Total	$	51	$	1,127	$	—	$	1,178

	December 31, 2015
	Quoted Prices in Active Markets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)		Fair Value
	(in millions)
Municipal securities	$	—	$	62	$	—	$	62
Government and agency securities ¹	31		64		—		95
Corporate securities	—		645		—		645
Asset-backed securities	—		57		—		57
Other	2		14		—		16
Total	$	33	$	842	$	—	$	875

¹Excludes amounts held in escrow related to the U.S. merchant class litigation settlement of $543 million and $541 million at December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, respectively, which would be included in Level 1 of the Valuation Hierarchy. See Note 10 (Accrued Expenses and Accrued Litigation) and Note 18 (Legal and Regulatory Proceedings) for further details.

The fair value of the Company’s available-for-sale municipal securities, government and agency securities, corporate securities and asset-backed securities are based on quoted prices for similar assets in active markets and are therefore included in Level 2 of the Valuation Hierarchy. The Company’s foreign currency derivative asset and liability contracts have also been classified within Level 2 in the Other category of the Valuation Hierarchy, as the fair value is based on broker quotes for the same or similar derivative instruments. See Note 20 (Foreign Exchange Risk Management) for further details. The Company’s U.S. government securities and marketable equity securities are classified within Level 1 of the Valuation Hierarchy as the fair values are based on unadjusted quoted prices for identical assets in active markets.

Financial Instruments - Non-Recurring Measurements

Certain financial instruments are carried on the consolidated balance sheet at cost, which approximates fair value due to their short-term, highly liquid nature. These instruments include cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, time deposits, accounts receivable, settlement due from customers, restricted security deposits held for customers, accounts payable, settlement due to customers and accrued expenses. In addition, nonmarketable equity investments are measured at fair value on a nonrecurring basis for purposes of initial recognition and impairment testing.

Investments on the consolidated balance sheet include both available-for-sale and short-term held-to-maturity securities. Available-for-sale securities are measured at fair value on a recurring basis and are included in the Valuation Hierarchy table above. Short-term held-to-maturity securities are made up of time deposits with maturities of greater than three months and less than one year and are classified as Level 2 of the Valuation Hierarchy, but are not included in the table above due to their fair values not being measured on a recurring basis. At December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, the cost, which approximates fair value, of the Company’s short-term held-to-maturity securities was $452 million and $130 million, respectively. In addition, at December 31, 2016, the Company held $61 million of long-term held-to-maturity securities included in other assets on the consolidated balance sheet, the cost of which approximates fair value, which are classified as Level 2 of the Valuation Hierarchy.

Debt

The Company estimates the fair value of its long-term debt based on market quotes for the debt instruments. Long-term debt is classified as Level 2 of the Valuation Hierarchy. At December 31, 2016, the carrying value and fair value of long-term debt was $5.2 billion and $5.3 billion, respectively. At December 31, 2015, the carrying value and fair value of long-term debt was $3.3 billion.

Settlement and Other Guarantee Liabilities

The Company estimates the fair value of its settlement and other guarantees using market assumptions for relevant though not directly comparable undertakings, as the latter are not observable in the market given the proprietary nature of such guarantees. At December 31, 2016 and 2015, the carrying value and fair value of settlement and other guarantee liabilities were not material. Settlement and other guarantee liabilities are classified as Level 3 of the Valuation Hierarchy as their valuation requires substantial judgment and estimation of factors that are not currently observable in the market. For additional information regarding the Company’s settlement and other guarantee liabilities, see Note 19 (Settlement and Other Risk Management).

Non-Financial Instruments

Certain assets are measured at fair value on a nonrecurring basis for purposes of initial recognition and impairment testing. The Company’s non-financial assets measured at fair value on a nonrecurring basis include property, plant and equipment, goodwill and other intangible assets. These assets are subject to fair value adjustments in certain circumstances, such as when there is evidence of impairment.

Amortized Costs and Fair Values – Available-for-Sale Investment Securities

The major classes of the Company’s available-for-sale investment securities, for which unrealized gains and losses are recorded as a separate component of other comprehensive income on the consolidated statement of comprehensive income, and their respective amortized cost basis and fair values as of December 31, 2016 and 2015 were as follows:



	December 31, 2016
	Amortized Cost		Gross Unrealized Gain		Gross Unrealized Loss			Fair Value
	(in millions)
Municipal securities	$	59	$	—	$	—		$	59
Government and agency securities	165		1		—			166
Corporate securities	853		3		(1		)	855
Asset-backed securities	80		—		—			80
Other	2		—		—			2
Total	$	1,159	$	4	$	(1	)	$	1,162

	December 31, 2015
	Amortized Cost		Gross Unrealized Gain		Gross Unrealized Loss			Fair Value
	(in millions)
Municipal securities	$	62	$	—	$	—		$	62
Government and agency securities	94		1		—			95
Corporate securities	646		—		(1		)	645
Asset-backed securities	57		—		—			57
Other	2		—		—			2
Total	$	861	$	1	$	(1	)	$	861

The Company’s available-for-sale investment securities held at December 31, 2016, primarily carried a credit rating of A-, or better. The municipal securities are primarily comprised of tax-exempt bonds and are diversified across states and sectors. Government and agency securities include U.S. government bonds, U.S. government sponsored agency bonds and foreign government bonds with similar credit quality to that of the U.S. government bonds. Corporate securities are comprised of commercial paper and corporate bonds. The asset-backed securities are investments in bonds which are collateralized primarily by automobile loan receivables.

Investment Maturities:

The maturity distribution based on the contractual terms of the Company’s investment securities at December 31, 2016 was as follows:



	Available-For-Sale
	Amortized Cost		Fair Value
	(in millions)
Due within 1 year	$	437	$	437
Due after 1 year through 5 years	715		718
Due after 5 years through 10 years	—		—
Due after 10 years	5		5
No contractual maturity ¹	2		2
Total	$	1,159	$	1,162

¹Equity securities have been included in the No contractual maturity category, as these securities do not have stated maturity dates.

Investment Income

Investment income primarily consists of interest income generated from cash, cash equivalents and investments. Gross realized gains and losses are recorded within investment income on the Company’s consolidated statement of operations. The gross realized gains and losses from the sales of available-for-sale securities for 2016, 2015 and 2014 were not significant.