American Express 2001 Annual Report Download - page 20

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In the commercial card area, we continue to be the recognized leader around the
world for helping companies manage their travel, entertainment and purchas-
ing expenses. Worldwide, we have card relationships with more than 100,000
firms, and the total keeps growing. For example, we introduced our Corporate
Purchasing Card in a number of key international markets, signing on as clients
Pfizer in the United Kingdom, Nortel Networks in Latin America, and Dupont
in Singapore and Hong Kong.
Since 1997, when we launched our Global Network Services (GNS) business,
scores of banks and other institutions outside the United States have partnered
with us to issue cards on the American Express network. We have expanded
this business from a handful of independent operators to a robust business of
74 partners in nearly 80 countries. Network cards in force have grown at an
annual rate of nearly 40 percent since 1997, while spending growth on
these cards has risen more than fourfold during that period. The growth
of GNS also has helped us dramatically accelerate merchant coverage,
with almost 1.9 million new service establishments added to our network
as a result of the partnerships that we have established. Among the new
network partners signed during 2001 were Union Bank Limited in Pakistan,
HSBC and Scotiabank Quilmes in Argentina, and Unibanca in Venezuela.
Early in 2002, we announced an agreement with Canada’s leading credit card
issuer, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), which became the first
Canadian bank to offer both American Express and Visa credit cards to its cus-
tomers. CIBC is issuing a suite of American Express-branded credit cards,
including Canada’s first smart chip credit card available nationally. This agree-
ment represents our first card-issuing partnership in Canada and is an
important step toward expanding our brand presence in that country. It also
reconfirms our experience around the world by demonstrating that major
banks, including Visa and MasterCard issuers, will choose to partner with
American Express when they are free to do so.
GROWING OUR CARD BUSINESS IN THE UNITED STATES
The use of charge and credit cards in the United States is significantly higher
than it is in international markets. Nevertheless, there is a large opportunity for
growth by continuing to expand the number and variety of places where cards
axp_18
American Express continued to
expand its international presence
by forming partnerships with banks
and other financial institutions that
issue cards on its network. We now
have 74 partners in 77 countries.
Among the new cards launched
recently was a suite of American
Express-branded credit cards
issued by the Canadian Imperial
Bank of Commerce (CIBC).