NEW YORK (AP) — American Express is launching a suite of financial services products for small businesses, aiming to increase its presence in the small business sector.
Called Business Blueprint, the service comes from the 2020 acquisition of fintech Kabbage by the credit card giant. From cash flow management hubs to business cards and lines of credit, under the name American Express Business Blueprint.
Small businesses often have difficulty securing loans because they don’t have established credit scores and often don’t have much capital on hand. Some fintech providers have stepped in to offer loans to small businesses, often at higher interest rates compared to traditional banks. , varying from 2% to 9% for 6-month loans to 15.75% to 27% for 18-month loans.
However, AmEx says the Business Blueprint is more than just a loan. It’s designed to help small businesses do a variety of tasks that they might otherwise do separately: take out loans, pay bills and vendors, accept card payments, all in one place. It has been.
Amex aims to be “the digital one-stop shop for the financial needs of small businesses,” said Anna Marrs, group president of global commercial services and credit and fraud risk at American Express. I’m here. “This is truly a new chapter for American Express, one where small businesses can not only do business with American Express, but they can also run their business with Amex.”
Signing up for Business Blueprint is free, and its digital financial products are available at various rates. Service will start on Tuesday.
Alenka Grealish, principal analyst and emerging technology analyst at research firm Celent, said the effort will help financial services companies move from product-based offerings such as one-off loans to offering a more holistic set of services. It is part of a broader effort to transition to
Amex has sought to expand its business beyond its traditional sources of income. That is, the fee charged to merchants that accept the card, and the fee paid if a customer does not repay their monthly charge card balance in full. On Friday, American Express reported that its fourth-quarter profit fell 9%.