American Express 2006 Annual Report Download - page 24

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attracting high-spending customers and identifying the right mix of products, services
and value propositions to appeal to them.
GNS is more than an attractive business in its own right. It enhances our entire
card business in many ways, strengthening our overall ability to increase cards-in-force,
merchant acceptance and brand visibility around the world. For example, in markets where
we work with bank partners to sign merchants, the number of establishments that accept
American Express-branded cards rose 25 percent last year. Most important, GNS enables
us to expand our global presence without having to invest large amounts of resources,
as our partners already have established, attractive customer bases they can target with
American Express-branded products.
PREPAID SERVICES
Sales of American Express Gift Cards continued to rise as we increased buying convenience
for customers, rolled out new products, worked with our merchant partners to give
prepaid customers special bonuses on purchases, and benefi ted from the growing popu-
larity of these products.
Our Gift Cards are now sold through tens of thousands of locations throughout the
United States, and we added many new ones during the year, including gas stations, retail
bank branches and grocery stores. Recipients of our Gift Cards got an added benefi t in
2006
—
the opportunity to receive exclusive discounts on their purchases or other extras
when they redeem their Gift Cards at participating merchants.
Sales of Travelers Cheques declined slightly in 2006, refl ecting the migration of the
prepaid business toward plastic. However, our Travelers Cheques remain a popular and
trusted product for many customers, especially in international markets. We took additional
steps during the year to expand the availability of Travelers Cheques, signing banks in
Brazil, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, Ukraine and the Caribbean to distribute the
product.
on the network
Global Network Services continued its rapid expansion in 2006, signing 11 new partners to issue cards
on our network. GNS has nearly 110 partners in 120 countries. Many of these partners introduced new
American Express-branded cards during the year, including the South African Airways American Express
Card issued by Nedbank, DBS Treasures Card, Bank of America American Express Rewards Card, Lloyd’s
TSB Bank Premier American Express Card, and American Express Banco Rio LANPASS Card.
letter to shareholders
[ 22 ]