American Express 2015 Annual Report Download - page 22

International Card Services — Regulation
As discussed elsewhere in this report, regulators continued to propose and enact a variety of new regulatory
changes to the payments industry during the course of 2015.
In Europe, the EU continued in its efforts to work towards greater harmonization on a number of fronts, in
particular in relation to payments, AML, consumer rights, data protection and information security. These pan-
European initiatives have been supplemented by a broad range of consumer protection and transparency initiatives at
an individual Member State level.
In countries outside Europe, we have seen regulators initiate new regulations in relation to a number of key
themes, particularly responsible lending (such as Australia, Mexico, New Zealand and Singapore), privacy and data
protection (such as Australia, Canada, Mexico and Singapore), fairness and financial crime.
Regulators in a number of countries are shifting their focus from just ensuring compliance with local rules and
regulations towards paying greater attention to the product design and operation with a focus on customers and
outcomes. Regulators’ expectations of firms in relation to their compliance, risk and control frameworks continue to
increase and regulators are placing significant emphasis on a firm’s systems and controls relating to the identification
and resolution of issues. We have also seen a further increase in regulatory focus on consumer protection, with a
number of regulators (such as those in the United Kingdom and Canada) being given a stronger mandate in this area.
We expect this activity to continue in 2016. We continue to evaluate our business planning in light of changing
market circumstances and the evolving political, economic and regulatory environments.
GLOBAL COMMERCIAL SERVICES
In our GCS segment, we offer a wide range of payments and expense management solutions to large and mid-
sized companies and organizations worldwide. GCS also offers a variety of business travel-related services to its
corporate clients through the GBT JV, including: full-service online and offline travel booking and reservation services
and support; travel program management services; consulting services; and meetings and events management
services. Until June 30, 2014, the business travel operations were wholly owned. For more information on the GBT JV
transaction, see Note 2 to our Consolidated Financial Statements.
Corporate Card Programs
The American Express®Corporate Card is a charge card that individual employees may obtain through a
corporate account established by their employer for business purposes. Through our corporate card program,
companies can manage their travel, entertainment and everyday business expenses. We use our closed-loop and
direct relationships with merchants to offer corporate card clients enhanced data about company spending as well as
the ability to efficiently manage and resolve disputes. We issue local currency corporate cards in more than 65
countries and territories, and have global U.S. dollar and euro corporate cards available in more than 100 countries
and territories.
We are focused on continuing to expand our business with mid-sized companies (defined in the United States as
firms with annual revenues of $10 million to $1 billion worldwide), which we believe represents a significant growth
opportunity. Businesses of this size often do not have a corporate card program; however, once enrolled, mid-sized
companies typically put a significant portion of their business spending on the corporate card because they are
seeking greater control over their business expenses and the potential savings and employee benefits that can result.
Corporate Card Members can also take advantage of our Membership Rewards program to earn points that can
be redeemed for air travel and hotel stays, as well as retail, home and recreation items. In select regions we also offer
Corporate Membership Rewards that allows a company to earn points to redeem for enterprise-level rewards.
Membership Rewards is an effective tool for encouraging corporate card usage.
Business-to-Business Payment Solutions
We offer a suite of business-to-business payment solutions to help companies manage their spend and recognize
other potential benefits, including cost savings, process control and efficiency, improved cash flow and increased
visibility on spend. This type of spending by companies also helps diversify our spend mix. Our corporate purchasing
card helps large corporations and mid-sized companies manage their everyday spending. It is used to pay for everyday
and large-ticket business expenses, such as office supplies, industrial supplies and business equipment. We issue local
currency corporate purchasing cards in 25 countries.
vPayment, which offers companies single-use virtual account numbers, allows corporate clients to make
payments with enhanced controls, data capture and reconciliation capabilities. Charges are authorized for a specified
amount during a designated time window. The solution automates reconciliation, eliminates manual check requests
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