Executive Briefing / CFO TCO Analysis

5-Year Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Executive Briefing for CFOs

Why regulated fintechs and financial institutions evaluate perpetual core-software licensing alongside recurring SaaS models.

Published 24 September 2026Reading time: 4 minsAudience: CFOs, Finance Directors, CROs

Executive summary

Stop Renting Core Software Infrastructure

Many core-banking SaaS contracts use recurring licensing, sometimes combined with account, user, transaction, module, support or usage charges. Commercial structures differ by provider and contract, so buyers should compare current proposals rather than assume a universal pricing model.

SAMFCore offers an alternative under its applicable perpetual software licence: a one-off SAMFCore licence fee for continuing usage rights, with customer-controlled deployment options. This can change the five-year cost profile and may allow eligible expenditure to be treated as a capitalized software asset, subject to the organisation’s accounting policy, IFRS or US GAAP requirements, and professional advice.

Five-year lens

5-Year Financial & Operational Comparison

Use this framework with actual supplier quotes, implementation plans, infrastructure costs, support arrangements and growth assumptions. It is not a priced forecast.

Cost & Valuation Factor	Traditional SaaS Core	SAMFCore Perpetual Licence Model	CFO Impact
Licensing structure	Recurring monthly or annual software subscription	One-off software fee under an applicable perpetual licence	Capital planning: The licence may be eligible for treatment as an intangible asset, subject to accounting policy and professional advice.
User & account scaling	Some contracts apply per-active-account or per-user charges	No per-user or per-account SAMFCore software fees under the applicable perpetual licence	Margin planning: SAMFCore licence cost does not rise solely because the customer or account count grows.
Transaction volume fees	Some contracts apply percentage, event-based or tiered transaction charges	No volume-based SAMFCore software fees under the applicable perpetual licence	Unit economics: Higher payment or exchange volume does not create a SAMFCore volume charge. External provider charges remain separate.
Source code & control	Platform source code is generally vendor controlled	Full source-code option available under a qualifying licence	Autonomy: Qualifying customers can use internal or appointed developers within the agreed licence scope.
Balance sheet & M&A impact	Continued software access generally depends on an active subscription	Continuing usage rights under the applicable perpetual licence	Enterprise continuity: Licensed usage rights can remain with the company, subject to agreement terms and transaction structure.

Licensing structure

Traditional SaaS core: Recurring monthly or annual software subscription
SAMFCore perpetual: One-off software fee under an applicable perpetual licence
CFO impact: Capital planning: The licence may be eligible for treatment as an intangible asset, subject to accounting policy and professional advice.

User & account scaling

Traditional SaaS core: Some contracts apply per-active-account or per-user charges
SAMFCore perpetual: No per-user or per-account SAMFCore software fees under the applicable perpetual licence
CFO impact: Margin planning: SAMFCore licence cost does not rise solely because the customer or account count grows.

Transaction volume fees

Traditional SaaS core: Some contracts apply percentage, event-based or tiered transaction charges
SAMFCore perpetual: No volume-based SAMFCore software fees under the applicable perpetual licence
CFO impact: Unit economics: Higher payment or exchange volume does not create a SAMFCore volume charge. External provider charges remain separate.

Source code & control

Traditional SaaS core: Platform source code is generally vendor controlled
SAMFCore perpetual: Full source-code option available under a qualifying licence
CFO impact: Autonomy: Qualifying customers can use internal or appointed developers within the agreed licence scope.

Balance sheet & M&A impact

Traditional SaaS core: Continued software access generally depends on an active subscription
SAMFCore perpetual: Continuing usage rights under the applicable perpetual licence
CFO impact: Enterprise continuity: Licensed usage rights can remain with the company, subject to agreement terms and transaction structure.

Conceptual cost curves

How the Licence Cost Profile Can Differ

SaaS Software Cost Over Time

Illustrates a recurring licence that increases when contracted usage metrics grow.

Year 1Year 2Year 3Year 4Year 5

SAMFCore Perpetual Model

Illustrates a one-off SAMFCore licence fee with no recurring SAMFCore licence fee after Year 1 under the applicable agreement.

Year 1Year 2Year 3Year 4Year 5

Conceptual illustration only; not to scale and not a financial projection. Implementation, infrastructure, support, maintenance, change, and customer-selected third-party provider costs are separate and depend on scope.

Executive outcomes

Core Financial Advantages for Your Balance Sheet

Predictable Cash Flow & Margin Planning

Set the SAMFCore perpetual software licence cost upfront. Customer-count and transaction-volume growth do not create additional SAMFCore licence charges under the applicable agreement.

Potential Enterprise Asset Accumulation

A qualifying software licence may be capitalized as an intangible asset under the organisation’s accounting framework. Recognition, amortization and EBITDA effects require professional assessment.

Vendor Independence & Risk Mitigation

Reduce dependence on recurring software renewals and retain control of the customer-selected deployment environment, data, and—under a qualifying licence—the source code.