{"id":57556,"date":"2024-03-05T14:23:51","date_gmt":"2024-03-05T13:23:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.centralpay.com\/fr\/blog\/5-questions-to-understand-american-express-payment\/"},"modified":"2026-02-26T16:35:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T15:35:57","slug":"5-questions-to-understand-american-express-payment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.centralpay.com\/en\/blog\/5-questions-to-understand-american-express-payment\/","title":{"rendered":"5 questions to understand American Express payment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is an American Express card?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Born from the merger of three financial companies (Wells, Fargo and Butterfield), American Express Company was initially a company specialising in money transfers. In 1891, AMEX became a pioneer in the field of business payments with its Travellers Cheques, designed to facilitate transactions for American citizens abroad. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the issuance of its first payment card in 1958, American Express entered the card scheme market, conquering the North American market before expanding into Europe in the 1960s. Over the next four decades, AMEX continued to introduce innovative services, helping to define its high-end positioning<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The American Express card<\/strong> is independent of the cardholder’s bank. It is a true deferred debit card<\/strong>, with the cardholder’s bank account used to repay the amounts spent with the card during the previous month. An AMEX card does not impose a predefined spending limit, which varies according to several factors specific to the cardholder (income, type of card, monthly spending history, etc.). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Who are American Express cardholders?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

France has 1.3 million American Express cardholders (2023), a figure that is constantly growing\u00b3. Although this is far from the 50 million cardholders in the United States\u00b9, there is nevertheless growing interest in France. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

A privileged and\/or itinerant clientele<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

AMEX offers are mainly aimed at two categories of buyers. On the one hand, there are wealthy and demanding individuals<\/g> (senior executives) with high annual incomes. They represent more than a quarter of American Express users and spend an average of $23,496 each year\u00b9 with their card. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, there are professionals on business trips<\/strong> (1 to 2 nights on average), whose expenses are covered by their company. Business card spending accounts for nearly three-quarters of American Express transaction volumes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
Did you know?<\/strong> A few years ago, each cardholder had to prove a minimum annual income of \u20ac20,000 to obtain a Blue Card (AMEX entry level). This requirement was lifted in November 2022

Currently, there are only three requirements:
\u2192 Be over 18 years of age
\u2192 Have a bank account in euros, domiciled in France
\u2192 Not be listed by the Bank of France<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The financial and non-financial benefits of an AMEX card<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

American Express offers several payment cards (Blue, Green, Gold, Corporate), each with distinct features and numerous benefits for customers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Financial benefits:<\/p>\n\n\n\n