American Express

American Express is a global payments company that issues prepaid, credit, and charge cards to consumers and businesses. In addition to issuing cards, American Express also processes transactions made with its card, including cards issued by third parties.

American Express issues and processes prepaid, gift, credit, and charge cards to consumers, small businesses, mid-sized companies, and large corporations worldwide.

Businesses around the world accept payments on American Express cards, similar to payments processed by Visa, Mastercard, and Discover. However, unlike Visa and Mastercard, American Express is both a card issuer and an acquiring bank, so it receives revenue from cardholders and businesses that accept their cards.

American Express processes transactions made with its logo-bearing cards, including The Platinum Card from American Express, the Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express, and the Delta Skymiles Blue Card from American Express.

American Express is most known for its credit and charge cards, but the global payments company also offers merchant services and operates a card network.

American Express cards are accepted at 12.2 million businesses in the U.S., according to a February 2022 Nilson Report on the industry. By comparison, Visa and Mastercard are accepted at 12.4 businesses, and 12.2 million businesses accept Discover.

Globally, Visa and Mastercard have a stronger payment footprint, with acceptance at 80 million businesses around the world, according to a December 2021 Nilson Report. Discover, which also issues and processes its own cards, is accepted at 61 million businesses. American Express is accepted at 60 million businesses globally.