Contract Acquisition Costs, net

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

Contract Acquisition Costs, net

Note 11 Contract Acquisition Costs, net

Significant components of contract acquisition costs as of December 31, 2015 and 2014 are summarized as follows:

(in thousands)	2015		2014
Conversion costs, net	$	159,000		159,339
Payments for processing rights, net		88,811		76,966
Total	$	247,811		236,305

Amortization expense related to contract acquisition cost for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013 are as follows:

(in thousands)	2015		2014		2013
Amortization expense related to:
Conversion costs	$	27,392		17,816		19,515
Payments for processing rights		17,039		16,209		13,099

The weighted average useful life for each component of contract acquisition costs, and in total, as of December 31, 2015 is as follows:

	Weighted Average Amortization Period (Yrs)
Payments for processing rights		14.7
Conversion costs		12.3
Total		13.3

Estimated future amortization expense of conversion costs and payments for processing rights as of December 31, 2015 for the next five years is:

(in thousands)	Conversion Costs		Payments for Processing Rights
2016	$	32,122		17,394
2017		29,148		15,978
2018		25,656		14,561
2019		21,149		12,277
2020		17,800		10,167