Suppose the merchant will take advantage of the cash discount of 4% of $20 000 = $800 by paying the bill within 30 days from the date of invoice. He needs to borrow $20 000 = $800 = $19 200. He would borrow this money on day 30 and repay it on day 100 (the day the original invoice is due) resulting in a 70-day loan. The interest he should be willing to pay on borrowed money should not exceed the cash discount $800.

r=I/pt=21.73%

The highest simple interest rate at which the merchant can afford to borrow money is 21.73%. This is a break-even rate. If he can borrow money, say at a rate of 15%, he should do so. He would borrow $19 200 for 70 days at 15%. Maturity value of the loan is $19 200(1+0.15(70/365))=$19 752.33

savings would be $20 000 − $19 752.33 = $247.67

MICR stands for Magnetic Ink Character Reader.

It is a letter of credit or a contractual agreement between financial institute (Bank) and the party to which the letter is handed. The ILOC letter cannot be cancelled under any circumstance and, guarantees the payment to the party. It requires the bank to pay against the drafts meeting all the terms of ILOC. It is valid upto the stated period of time. For example, if a small business wanted to contract with an overseas supplier for a specified item they would come to an agreement on the terms of the sale like quality standards and pricing, and ask their respective banks to open a letter of credit for the transaction. The buyer’s bank would forward the letter of credit to the seller’s bank, where the payment terms would be finalized and the shipment would be made.