It's amazing how many companies have tried to pull this little accounting trick, or variations of it. Most of them have failed or else fallen from glory.

Ahhhh, ok. That seems like shady accounting to me, then. Calling any money "revenue" before the merchants get their share.

That's not shady accounting, revenue is the income a company receives before handling any expenses, which in this case would include payment of merchants. This is why revenue is called the top-line - it represents the first number on any balance sheet before you subtract anything away.

If they keep ~50% of the coupon price wouldn't that just mean $250mm then? Still a big number.

They have 4000 employees. If they cost (salary + benefits + taxes + etc.) $100k a year each, on average, then that'd be $400m.