No…I don’t really mean “how much do I get” (Javelin policy precludes me from investing in companies that I cover…and looking at MasterCard’s rise over the past several years, that HURTS). What I mean is all the Visa issuing banks beyond the top 5—who’s potential paydays are listed in this column.

One of the key premises of the Visa IPO is to ostensibly “bail out” Visa issuing banks from any liability due to lawsuits, from Amex, Discover, merchant lobby groups, etc. So Visa takes the proceeds and—after setting aside some in escrow to cover those potential payouts—provides its issuers with their “share” of the company (which in its present state is an association of said issuing banks).

There is rampant speculation and more than some uncertainty among the smaller issuing banks as to their payout. I’ve had several inquiries looking to break down the payout among all Visa issuing banks (tall order…there are roughly 20,000 of them I believe…). It will likely remain obfuscated until the actual IPO price is determined and set.

But as far as structure and benefits, it’s basically the way Visa has worked from its inception as an association—the more cards you issue, the bigger voice you have in making policy, and now when it comes to the IPO, the larger your share of the pie. The fewer cards you issue, the less certain you are of your payday come the Visa IPO.

But I’d still like to know how much Bank X in Anytown, USA is going to get from that $19B. Any speculation?