American Express was established in 1850 providing money order services and introduced traveler's checks in 1882. It issued its first credit card in 1958. American Express went public in 1978. The company aims to provide premium financial services to incentivize consumer spending and offer a secure payment option for travelers. Its core products include card and non-card services. American Express differentiates itself through prestige and perks. It operates on a closed loop business model with higher merchant fees as a charge card. Despite losing a partnership with Costco, American Express has seen a 7% increase in user spending and added over 1 million new merchants and 10 million new cards in 2016.

1. American Express
James Lee (jajulee)

2. Brief History
1850 1882
Establishment
Money Order
1891
Traveler’s Check
1958. . .
First Credit Card
1978
IPO
. . .

3. Problems to Solve
How to provide premium
financial services to incentive
consumer spending
How to provide a comfortable
and secure payment medium
for travelers

4. Core Products
Card Products
Non-Card Products

5. Hidden Products or Secret Sauce
Prestige
Perks

6. Business Model
Closed Loop
Higher Merchant
Fees
Charge Card

7. Financials (NYSE:AXP)

8. Financials (NYSE:AXP)

9. Revenue vs. Return

10. Comparison Chart
American
Express
Visa,
Mastercard
Chase, Citi
Debit/Bank
Venmo,
PayPal
Universal
Acceptance
Prestige
Online
Platforms
Closed Loop
Model
Low User
Cost

11. Future/Outlook
Despite Costco fallout, users are spending
more than ever ~7% increase
Growing customer and merchant base (~10
Million new cards and ~1 Million new
merchants in 2016)
Weak technology and “secret sauce” base

12. References
https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/01/23/revenue-and-earnings-fall-at-
american-express.aspx
https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/02/21/the-14-billion-difference-
how-visa-mastercard-and.aspx
https://image.slidesharecdn.com/americanexpresscompany-
aresearchbyhassankhan-150427141841-conversion-gate02/95/american-express-
company-a-research-by-hassan-khan-6-638.jpg?cb=1430144448
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Express#Non-card_products
https://www.google.com/search?
q=american+express+card+visa&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi
ynPCc06DSAhUEOCYKHeEFAQcQ_AUICCgB&biw=841&bih=611#imgrc=6V6S
Ckz9i7S9HM: