Card Issuer Profile: American Express

Content

• Overview
• Catalyst
• Summary
  • American Express
• Key Findings
• Company Overview
  • Background
  • Ownership And Management
  • Bank Of America Board Of Directors
  • Employees
  • Management Values
  • Company Structure
  • American Express Issues Payment Cards And Acquires On Its Own Network
  • Other Issuers Also Issue Cards On The American Express Network
  • A Legal Ruling In The Us Has Left Banks Free To Issue American Express Cards In Addition To Those Carrying The Visa And Mastercard Brands
  • Geographic Coverage
  • Strategic Focus
  • American Express Has An Extremely Strong Brand
  • American Express Operates A SpendCentric Business Model In Its Consumer Card Business
  • The SpendCentric Business Model Is Reflected In The High Level Of Spend Velocity On American Express Cards
  • American Express Bills More Than Its Competitors But Has Lower Outstanding Balances
  • American Express Has A Different Revenue Mix From Its Competitors
  • The Model Depends On Attracting High Spending Cardholders
  • American Express Has Also Worked Hard To Maintain Its Position On The Corporate Side
  • On The Large Corporate Side, American Express Aims To Provide A Complete Payments Solution
  • For Smaller Businesses, American Express Aims To Position Itself As A Business Partner
  • While American Express Has Traditionally Focused On Corporate And High Net Worth Segments, This Is Changing
  • American Express Has Managed To Avoid Some Of The Pitfalls Of Moving To The Mainstream
  • By Operating Its Gns Arm, American Express Diversifies Its Income
  • Card Statistics
  • The Value Of Transactions Has Grown Consistently Over The Last Five Years
  • Cards Statistics Rest Of The World
  • Key Financials
  • Profit And Loss Account
  • Balance Sheet
  • Card Product Offering
  • On The Consumer Side, American Express Focuses On Quality Service And Providing Cardholder Value
  • The Membership Rewards Program Is Central To The Proposition
  • Us Consumer Cards
  • International Consumer Cards
  • Commercial Cards
  • American Express Positions Itself As A Partner For Smes
  • Corporate Products Are A Mainstay Of American Express's Product Suite
  • Company Outlook
  • American Express Is Less Diversified Than Some Of Its Competitors
  • In The Current Economic Situation This May Be No Bad Thing
  • One Implication Is That American Express Is More Reliant On Funding
  • The Gns Agreements Provide Some Stability
  • The Outlook For American Express Is Excellent In The Longer Term
  • Datamonitor Competitor Benchmark
• Appendix
  • Definitions
  • Affinity Card
  • Charge Card
  • CoBranded Card
  • Commercial Card
  • Credit Card
  • Premium Cards
  • Private Label Card
  • Data Relating To The Graphics In This Profile
  • Methodology
  • Further Reading
  • Ask The Analyst
  • Datamonitor Consulting
  • Disclaimer
• List Of Tables
  • Table 1: American Express Board Of Directors, 2008
  • Table 2: Value Of American Express Transactions In The Us And Overseas, 200507
  • Table 3: American Express Statistics For Western Europe, 2007
  • Table 4: American Express Statistics For Eastern Europe, 2006
  • Table 5: Revenue, Operating Cost And Profit For American Express, 200407
  • Table 6: Scorecard Logic, Part One
  • Table 7: Scorecard Logic, Part Two
  • Table 8: American Express Number Of Cards In Issue
  • Table 9: Source Of American Express Revenue By Business Area
  • Table 10: American Express, Balance Sheet 200307
  • Table 11: Current Relevant Datamonitor Publications, 2008
  • Table 12: Future Relevant Datamonitor Publications, 2008
• List Of Figures
  • Figure 1: American Express Comprises Five Main Groups
  • Figure 2: American Express Deals With Business Relationships As Well As Card Issuance
  • Figure 3: American Express Is Present In More Than 100 Countries, 2008
  • Figure 4: American Express Operates A SpendCentric Business Model
  • Figure 5: American Express Cards Have A Higher Spend Velocity Than Average, 2008
  • Figure 6: American Express Bills More Than Any Other Global Card Issuer, 2007
  • Figure 7: American Express Relies On Fee Income More Than Its Competitors
  • Figure 8: On The Whole, American Express Has Had Lower WriteOff Rates Than Its Competitors, 200708
  • Figure 9: International Operations Have Consistently Accounted For Around 40% Of American Express Cards In Issue, 200307
  • Figure 10: Both The Value Of Transaction And The Value Of Transactions Per Card Has Grown, 200307
  • Figure 11: The Us Card Services Business Now Accounts For More Than 50% Of American Express Revenue
  • Figure 12: American Express Has Exhibited Growing Profits, 200407
  • Figure 13: The American Express Balance Sheet Shrunk Considerably With The SpinOff Of Ameriprise In 2005
  • Figure 14: American Express Spending On Marketing, Promotion, And Card Member Rewards And Services Has More Than Doubled, 200107
  • Figure 15: The American Express Membership Rewards Program Has Evolved Since 1991
  • Figure 16: The Centurion Card Is The Top Of The Range American Express Card
  • Figure 17: The American Express Reward Charge Cards Carry A Range Of Benefits
  • Figure 18: American Express Issues Airline CoBrands In The Us
  • Figure 19: American Express Also Offers Some Reward Cards Aimed At The Mass Market
  • Figure 20: The American Express Nectar Card
  • Figure 21: The Gold Card For Small Businesses, 2008
  • Figure 22: The Gold Card Allows Small Businesses To Receive Discounts At A Range Of Retailers
  • Figure 23: American Express Datamonitor Competitor Scorecard