Usance
Categories: Metrics
“Usance” is the amount of time we have between the date a bill or invoice is dated...and the date it needs to be paid.
We see this term used most often in the exotic and intriguing world of international trade, and it’s usually in the neighborhood of 30 days, though it can be as short as two weeks or as long as two or three months. This gives Bill Frye (the imports guy) time to inspect the goods he just took delivery of, make sure they’re up to snuff, and sell ‘em before he has to pay for them.
Outside of the import-export game, we might also see the word “usance” used to describe interest charged on loans. So, for example, if we just paid $23.67 in interest charges on our credit card and we want to be fancy when we’re describing it to friends, we could say, “Yes, and this past month, we paid a $23.67 usance to our dear friends over at Visa.” See how much better that sounds than saying we paid $23.67 in interest?
