Amex Offering Businesses Huge Incentives to Boost Acceptance
American Express has always lagged behind rivals like Visa and Mastercard in terms of business acceptance. One of the reasons for that is the higher fees they charge to merchants. But they have been aggressively pushing to close the gap in recent years. The Wall Street Journal reports that American Express is offering some businesses thousands of dollars in sign-up fees as well as other incentives.
American Express is paying bonuses from about $10,000 and even approaching the half-a-million-dollar range.
American Express is accepted in about 10.3 million locations in the United States. Visa and Mastercard are accepted in about 1.3 million more locations.
Amex long relied upon its base of higher-spending cardholders, such as business travelers, to make up for its smaller footprint and persuade merchants to accept its higher swipe fees. But with other banks also issuing more premium cards, the exclusivity of Amex cards is eroding.
In 2016, the network announced a bid to significantly grow its merchant network. Giving sign-on bonuses without conditions is completely new in the industry, and it shows how hard Amex is pushing to close the gap with rivals. The company said it has added upwards of three million businesses in the last few years.
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