that include a card reader which can be hooked up to a personal computer. American Express has already launched such cards in the U.S. The company plans to introduce a card with an IC chip aimed at heavy Internet users in Japan. Marsh said that he hopes to bring the same kind of interactive Web site to Japan before the end of this year. They can also make hotel and air ticket reservations and check their reward program points via the Web. In the United States, American Express has launched an interactive Web site where card holders can check their transactions, account balances, mutual fund performance and trade stocks and funds. “American Express wants to be very much a part of that world so our customers feel comfortable using our card (online).” “It’s a new beginning, and it’s changing the industry dramatically,” Marsh said. He also said that while the transaction with JCB will enhance the usability of his firm’s cards in the real world, the firm is very active in promoting the use of cards in the cyber world as well. Card holders from both sides are very loyal because of reward programs, he said. Marsh denied the possibility that JCB’s expanded access to overseas outlets will prompt American Express card holders here to switch to the Japanese brand. It shows the resolve of American Express to break stereotypes and expand its customer base, Marsh said, adding that the firm also wants to expand card access eventually to such everyday shopping venues as convenience stores and small supermarkets.
The deal with JCB, the first of its kind in the card industry, will be implemented in stages from next spring. JCB has about 6.8 million merchants in 167 countries. The Nilson Report, a U.S.-based trade publication covering consumer payment systems, however, estimates the firm’s worldwide merchant network at some 6.4 million. the leading Japanese credit card issuer - announced June 14 that they will share merchant networks both in Japan and abroad.Īmerican Express does not disclose the number of merchants that accept its cards. That something came earlier this month, when Amex and JCB Co.
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