How does Alice price?
Alice charges the employer a fee that is capped at the payroll tax savings the employer earns from running commuter spending pretax. If employees do not spend, the employer does not pay. There is no up-front employer cost, no per-employee monthly seat fee, and no employee fees.
The principle, in one sentence
Your cost can never be more than your own payroll-tax savings on pretax commuter spending.
What you pay
- A program fee tied to actual pretax commuter spending each pay period
Employees never pre-fund anything. Your company also keeps a reserve amount in its Alice plan account. It belongs to your company, is not a fee, and keeps the account from going negative between a purchase and the next payroll sweep.
What you do not pay
- No up-front employer cost
- No per-employee per-month seat fee whether or not the seat uses the benefit
- No implementation fee
- No annual contract minimum that the employer carries if employees do not participate
- No employee-side fees, ever
Why this pricing exists
Traditional pretax benefit providers bill per employee per month (PEPM). You pay up front, manage enrollment and payroll yourself, and pay whether or not employees use the benefit. For frontline employers, where participation builds over weeks and months, PEPM pricing usually means the platform earns more than the employer saves. Alice flipped that.
How employer FICA savings work
Every dollar an employee runs pretax through Alice is a dollar that is not part of FICA-taxable wages. The employer's share of FICA (7.65%) and federal unemployment taxes drops by that amount. Across a team, employer FICA savings typically run a few percentage points of total commuter spending.
Worked example (illustrative)
Take a 100-person frontline employer where 60 people use Alice and average $150 a month in commuter spending. That is about $108,000 a year in pretax commuter spending. The employer's FICA savings on that spending would be in the ballpark of $8,000 a year. Alice's fee is capped at that savings figure. Numbers are illustrative; actual savings depend on the wage mix and actual usage.
What employees see
Employees pay nothing. They get Alice Card, a Visa commercial credit card. They keep more of the money they earn on every eligible purchase.
Need help?
Talk to sales: sales@thisisalice.com or (929) 552-4625.
Savings shown or implied, including any reference to "cash back" or take-home pay, are illustrative. Actual savings depend on your tax rate, benefit elections, and eligible spending each pay period. "Cash back" in Alice's materials refers to the federal, state, and FICA payroll taxes you don't pay on eligible commuter spending. It is income tax you keep, not a cash payment from Alice, your employer, or any third party. Alice does not provide cash back, rebates, or any direct financial benefit in connection with the Program. Alice does not provide tax, legal, or financial advice. Consult your own tax preparer, lawyer, or financial advisor for guidance specific to your situation.
Pretax Hero Visa Commercial Card is powered by Stripe and issued by Celtic Bank. Program funds held at Fifth Third Bank, N.A. (Member FDIC). Use of card and program is subject to the cardholder terms and related agreements presented at issuance.
Trademarks, brands, and product names referenced in this article are the property of their respective owners. References are for descriptive purposes only and do not imply endorsement. For definitive information about a third party's products or services, contact that party directly.