American Express Co.

Public Company, Headquarters Location
200 Vesey St., New York, NY 10285-1000, United States
(212)640-2000, (212)640-2458 fax, http://www.americanexpress.com

Primary SIC: Personal Credit Institutions, Primary NAICS: Consumer Lending
Description: Founded in 1850, as an express delivery business, American Express has grown into an international corporation whose principal products and services are charge and credit payment card products, and travel-related services offered to consumers and businesses. The company's Global Network and Merchant Services segment manages the Global Consumer Group, Global Merchant Services and Global Network Services. The Global Consumer Group offers charge and lending card products, and consumer travel services and stored value products such as Travelers Cheques. As of 2008, the company's Global Network Services had established more than 117 card issuing or merchant acquiring arrangements with banks and other institutions in 125 countries. Global Merchant Services provides access to rich transaction data through American Express' closed loop network. The Business-to-Business Group segment provides business travel, corporate cards, network services, merchant acquisition and merchant processing. American Express' various products and services are sold globally through direct mail, the Internet, third-party sales forces and direct response advertising. American Express cards permit cardmembers to charge purchases of goods and services at the millions of merchants that accept cards bearing the American Express logo. The company added net total of 8.4 million cards in 2007, bringing total worldwide cards-in-force to 86.4 million. More

Finance: Full-service securities brokerage firm, card and consumer lending, foreign commercial bank and financial planning services. Services: Travel agency, information processing and related services.