Fair Value of Financial Instruments

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2021

The following describes the valuation technique for determining the fair value of financial instruments, whether or not such instruments are carried at fair value on our consolidated balance sheets.

Short-term Financial Instruments

Our short-term financial instruments consist principally of unrestricted and restricted cash and cash equivalents, settlement assets and obligations, and obligations to customers. These financial instruments are short-term in nature, and, accordingly, we believe their carrying amounts approximate their fair values. Under the fair value hierarchy, these instruments are classified as Level 1.

Investment Securities

The fair values of investment securities have been derived using methodologies referenced in Note 2–Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to the Consolidated Financial Statements of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020. Under the fair value hierarchy, our investment securities are classified as Level 2.

Loans

We determined the fair values of loans by discounting both principal and interest cash flows expected to be collected using a discount rate commensurate with the risk that we believe a market participant would consider in determining fair value. Under the fair value hierarchy, our loans are classified as Level 3.

Deposits

The fair value of demand and interest checking deposits and savings deposits is the amount payable on demand at the reporting date. We determined the fair value of time deposits by discounting expected future cash flows using market-derived rates based on our market yields on certificates of deposit, by maturity, at the measurement date. Under the fair value hierarchy, our deposits are classified as Level 2.

Contingent Consideration

The fair value of contingent consideration obligations, such as the earn-out associated with our acquisition of UniRush LLC ("UniRush") in 2017, is estimated through valuation models designed to estimate the probability of such contingent payments based on various assumptions. Estimated payments are discounted using present value techniques to arrive at an estimated fair value. Our contingent consideration payable is classified as Level 3 because we use unobservable inputs to estimate fair value, including the probability of achieving certain earnings thresholds and appropriate discount rates. Changes in fair value of contingent consideration are recorded through operating expenses.

Debt

The fair value of our revolving line of credit is based on borrowing rates currently available to a market participant for loans with similar terms or maturity. The carrying amount of our outstanding revolving line of credit approximates fair value because the base interest rate charged varies with market conditions and the credit spread is commensurate with current market spreads for issuers of similar risk. The fair value of the revolving line of credit is classified as a Level 2 liability in the fair value hierarchy.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The carrying values and fair values of certain financial instruments that were not carried at fair value, excluding short-term financial instruments for which the carrying value approximates fair value, at September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020 are presented in the table below.


	September 30, 2021				December 31, 2020
	Carrying Value		Fair Value		Carrying Value		Fair Value
	(In thousands)
Financial Assets
Loans to bank customers, net of allowance	$	28,157	$	27,130	$	21,011	$	20,421

Financial Liabilities
Deposits	$	2,959,386	$	2,959,325	$	2,735,116	$	2,735,072