American Express has launched a new corporate card product that includes expense management software and an expense app as the payments brand continues to seek to solidify its spot with midmarket clients.
The American Express Corporate Cashback Cards program includes new expense management software through which companies can set spending and approval policies for different employees and departments. Finance teams can view balances and statements and issue physical and virtual cards through the software, and it integrates with major ERP providers for faster reconciliation, according to American Express.
Clients in the new program also have access to a new Amex Expense mobile app for employees to manage expenses, making recommendations for classifications via AI once an expense is generated, prompting for and reviewing receipt photos when necessary and flagging out-of-policy expenses.
American Express has been readying its expense offering since its acquisition of Center last year. Launched as part of the Corporate Cashback Cards offering, an Amex spokesperson said the company "plans to continuously enhance Amex Corporate" with additional features, with new capabilities rolled out "for additional customers in the future."
“Nearly nine out of 10 businesses we surveyed told us their future growth depends on getting a better understanding of employee spending," Amex Global Commercial Services group president Raymond Joabar said in a statement. "Our new Amex Corporate features are designed to help businesses know where money is going and who's spending it, save time and simplify day-to-day operations, all backed by the trust and service of American Express."
The launch comes as Amex and other long-established payment providers are facing growing competition from a wave of fintech companies with their own spend management platforms.
Among the features American Express has planned are new AI agents for the expense management software, which the company said will launch later this autumn. That includes an expense agent that reaches out to employees via SMS or Slack to suggest added details needed for expense submissions as well as an insights agent that can respond to questions from finance teams, generating analysis and charts.
In addition, American Express is adding Accounts Payable software to its Corporate Cashback Card offering, in which companies can manage employee expenses and pay vendor bills.
The new offering comes with a price tag of a $2,950 annual program membership fee for unlimited cards, including unlimited digital cards, which Amex is waiving for the first year for programs that are approved and have expense management access set up by March 31, 2027. The program offers 1.5 percent cash back in the form of a monthly statement credit for up to $10 million per calendar year, reducing to 1 percent after that cap is reached, as well as 3 percent Uber Cash on both business rides with Uber and Uber Eats orders.
Spending capacity in the program is based on a client's financial standing and payment history, according to Amex.
The Corporate Cashback Card is the second card offering for business customers that Amex has launched this year, following its launch of a new card for business leaders, American Express Graphite Business Cash Unlimited, earlier this year. Both are part of what Amex has said is its "most significant commercial product expansion in one year."