American Express has embarked on a bold new strategy which will see acceptance of American Express skyrocket across Australia. Called OptBlue, the new merchant acquiring program will see thousands of small merchants onboarded to the American Express Network through two of Australia’s leading merchant acquirers, Fiserv and Tyro Payments, who are first-to-market with the new program.
With OptBlue, small businesses will be able to process American Express transactions at a competitive rate to the other card schemes, with both acquirers providing a one-stop-shop servicing solution for all card types including a single statement and settlement process, plus a single onboarding journey and servicing contact.
Stacey Rylands, Vice President of Merchant Acquisition for American Express Australia and New Zealand, says: “Enabling American Express Card Members to use their Cards in more places has been a top priority for some time and we have made incredible gains across industries and key locations. The launch of OptBlue in Australia is set to supercharge the scale of our merchant Network and once and for all help put an end to the question: ‘do you accept Amex?’ at the checkout.”
“Not only is it a win for American Express Card Members, but for thousands of additional small businesses across the country set to benefit from Amex Card Members who on average, spend 3.4 times more annually than non-Card Members and 2.4 times more per purchase. At a time when small businesses are facing significant economic pressure, every high spending customer through their doors is a huge win.”
OptBlue was first introduced in the U.S. before being implemented in Canada and Mexico, delivering successful merchant coverage growth for American Express in those markets. Today in the U.S. 99% of places that accept credit cards can accept American Express.
In Australia, over 136,000 new places were added to the American Express Network in the last 12 months alone1 with retail and dining seeing the highest gains.
“The massive strides that have been made to increase American Express acceptance has completely changed the experience for our customers. Now through OptBlue, a first for American Express outside of the Americas, it will be even easier for American Express Card Members to shop small and for businesses to see the benefit”, concludes Rylands.
Dominic White, Chief Product Officer at Tyro Payments says: “Simplifying payment acceptance with innovative solutions built for Aussie businesses has been in Tyro’s DNA for more than 20 years. We’re thrilled to be partnering with Amex to launch yet another first-to-market platform that allows thousands of Tyro merchants to accept more payments and makes it even easier for more Australians to shop locally.”
Gavin Jones, Fiserv General Manager, Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific says: “Our clients are always looking for ways to streamline their operations, and we are committed to enabling them to do so. Fiserv has a long-standing partnership with American Express to enable acceptance of Amex Cards around the globe, and the expansion of this partnership through the OptBlue program will provide our merchant clients a better way to accept Amex Card transactions. Merchants will benefit from access to funding, reporting and billing directly with Fiserv. As a result, merchants can get paid faster for their Amex transactions and simplify reconciliation, facilitating improved cashflow and simpler reporting.”
Once part of the American Express Network, merchants will receive access to American Express’ global marketing engine, tools and services to help them thrive including offers, promotions and, for eligible merchants, initiatives like Shop Small that are designed to help them attract more customers and reward them in more ways.
Other key facts about American Express acceptance in Australia
- 2 in 3 Amex Card Members say that it is important that businesses accept American Express.
- Over 1 in 3 Amex Card Members say that credit card acceptance is one of the top 3 reasons for choosing to shop at a new business.
- 65% of Amex Card Members say they typically look on the checkout page to see whether American Express is accepted.
- 48% of Amex Card Members say they tend to abandon in-store purchases if they can’t see that American Express is accepted. 46% for online purchases.
- 71% of Amex Card Members say they are more likely to return a business that accepts American Express.