American Express 2015 Annual Report Download - page 122

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NOTE 3
ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE AND LOANS
The Company’s charge and lending payment card products result in the generation of Card Member receivables
and Card Member loans, respectively. This Note is presented excluding amounts associated with the Card Member
loans and receivables HFS as of December 31, 2015.
CARD MEMBER AND OTHER RECEIVABLES
Card Member receivables, representing amounts due on charge card products, are recorded at the time a Card
Member enters into a point-of-sale transaction with a merchant. Each charge card transaction is authorized based on
its likely economics, a Card Member’s most recent credit information and spend patterns. Additionally, global spend
limits are established to limit the maximum exposure for the Company.
Charge Card Members generally must pay the full amount billed each month. Card Member receivable balances
are presented on the Consolidated Balance Sheets net of reserves for losses (refer to Note 4), and include principal
and any related accrued fees.
Accounts receivable by segment as of December 31, 2015 and 2014 consisted of:
(Millions) 2015 2014
U.S. Card Services (a) .................................................................. $23,255 $22,468
International Card Services ............................................................ 6,975 7,653
Global Commercial Services (b) ......................................................... 13,777 14,583
Global Network & Merchant Services (c) .................................................. 126 147
Card Member receivables (d) ........................................................... 44,133 44,851
Less: Reserve for losses ............................................................... 462 465
Card Member receivables, net .......................................................... $ 43,671 $44,386
Other receivables, net (e) ............................................................... $ 3,024 $ 2,614
(a) Includes $6.6 billion and $7.0 billion of gross Card Member receivables available to settle obligations of a consolidated VIE as of December 31,
2015 and 2014, respectively.
(b) Includes $319 million and $636 million due from airlines, of which Delta Air Lines (Delta) comprises $257 million and $606 million as of
December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.
(c) Includes receivables primarily related to the Company’s International Currency Card portfolios.
(d) Includes approximately $11.9 billion and $13.3 billion of Card Member receivables outside the United States as of December 31, 2015 and 2014,
respectively.
(e) Other receivables primarily represent amounts related to (i) certain merchants for billed discount revenue and (ii) GNS partner banks for items
such as royalty and franchise fees. Other receivables are presented net of reserves for losses of $43 million and $61 million as of December 31,
2015 and 2014, respectively.
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