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Guarantees | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2015
Disclosure Text Block Abstract |
Guarantees | NOTE 16 Guarantees The Company provides Card Member protection plans that cover losses associated with purchased products, as well as certain other guarantees and indemnifications in the ordinary course of business. For the Company, guarantees primarily consist of card and travel protection programs, including: Return Protection — refunds the price of qualifying purchases made with the eligible card s where the merchant will not accept the return for up to 90 days from the date of purchase; and Merchant Protection — protects Card Members primarily against non-delivery of goods and services, usually in the event of bankruptcy or liquidation of a merchant. When this occurs, the Card Member may dispute the transaction for which the Company will generally credit the Card Member’s account. If the Company is unable to collect the amount from the merchant, it wi ll bear the loss for the amount credited to the Card Member. The largest component of the maximum potential future payments relates to Card Member transactions associated with travel-related merchants, primarily through business arrangements where the Company has remitted payment to such merchants for a Card Member travel purchase that has not yet been used or “flown.” In relation to its maximum potential undiscounted future payments as shown in the table that follows, to date the Company has not experienced any significant losses related to guarantees or indemnifi cations. The Company’s initial recognition of these instruments is at fair value. In addition, the Company establishes reserves when a loss is probable and the amount can be reasonably estimated. The following table provides information related to such g uarantees and indemnifications as of December 31:
|  | Maximum potential |  |
| undiscounted future |
| payments(a) | Related liability(b)
| (Billions) | (Millions)
Type of Guarantee |  | 2015 |  | 2014 |  | 2015 |  | 2014
Return and Merchant Protection |  | $ | 42 |  | $ | 37 |  | $ | 49 |  | $ | 44
Other(c) |  |  | 6 |  |  | 8 |  |  | 37 |  |  | 67
Total |  | $ | 48 |  | $ | 45 |  | $ | 86 |  | $ | 111
Represents the notional amounts that could be lost under the guarantees and indemnifications if there were a total default by the guaranteed or indemnified parties. The maximum potential undiscounted future payments for Merchant Protection are measured using management’s best estimate of maximum exposure, which is based on all eligible claims in relation to annual billed business volumes. Included in O ther liabilities on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets. P rimarily includes guarantees related to the Com pany’s purchase protection, real estate and business dispositions.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for each guarantee obligation, or each group of similar guarantee obligations, including (a) the nature of the guarantee, including its term, how it arose, and the events or circumstances that would require the guarantor to perform under the guarantee; (b) the maximum potential amount of future payments (undiscounted) the guarantor could be required to make under the guarantee; (c) the current carrying amount of the liability, if any, for the guarantor's obligations under the guarantee; and (d) the nature of any recourse provisions under the guarantee, and any assets held either as collateral or by third parties, and any relevant related party disclosure. Excludes disclosures about product warranties. + References No definition available. + Details
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