American Express 2009 Annual Report Download - page 16

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14
AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
PREMIER CO-BRANDS
help us attract loyal, high-
spending customers around
the world
PREMIUM NETWORK
We also have 130 partners
worldwide who issue cards
accepted on our network
uses our rewards platforms and expertise to
build customer loyalty programs for business
partners. Business Insights uses our information
management skills to help merchants increase
their sales. These are the first of a range of new,
valuable fee services that we expect to introduce to
the marketplace.
Accelerating our progress in alternative payments
—
Technology and social networking are changing
the way people communicate, relate and transact
with each other. We intend to play a key role in
the evolution of alternative payments, using
strategic investments and partnerships to add to
our own capabilities.
For example, we recently acquired Revolution
Money, a young company whose online payments
platform oers innovative ways to exchange money
with friends, family members and merchants.
is deal gives us a exible technology platform
to increase our presence in person-to-person
payments, introduce new alternative payment
products, and develop mobile solutions. This is
a relatively small acquisition that we believe has
big potential.
Another exciting move is the partnership we
formed with ICBC and UMPay to launch China’s
rst dual-currency mobile payments card. With its
nearly 700 million mobile phone users, China is a
promising market for this type of product.
Meanwhile, we continue to build our online
presence as a brand people can trust. At OPEN
Forum, we bring small business owners together to
share knowledge that can help them be successful.
On Twitter, Amex followers get inside access to
exclusive events, experiences, and oers from the
company. At Zync Tank, twenty-somethings are
helping us shape product features for our newest
charge card.
We see tremendous opportunity to expand into
new categories of money exchange built around
speed, security and personal expression.
CHANGING THE ORGANIZATION
To better position American Express for growth,
we made three key changes to our organizational
structure this past October.
First, we grouped our global consumer, small
business, merchant and network businesses
under the senior leadership of our Vice Chairman
Edward Gilligan. This move will enable us
to increase alignment between these related
organizations and sharpen our focus on our
strongest growth opportunities, while maintaining
appropriate rewalls between our card-issuing and
GNS businesses.
Second, we are creating an Enterprise Growth
Group that will focus exclusively on generating
new sources of fee revenue from our existing assets
and advancing our eorts in emerging payments.
This includes developing new opportunities for
growth that transcend individual businesses and
take advantage of technological trends.
Third, we created a new Global Services
Group that will power the day-to-day servicing
of our internal and external customers. Under