A new shake-up is coming to small business payments as Amazon expands its card strategy through a partnership with U.S. Bank, introducing two new business cards on the Mastercard network. The launch marks a notable shift—these are Amazon’s first business cards issued outside of American Express after an eight-year partnership.
Amazon also continues to offer retail-focused cards through Chase and store-branded and secured products through Synchrony.
The Prime Business Card and Amazon Business Card are designed to pair U.S. Bank’s commercial card infrastructure with Amazon Business tools. Together, they enable real-time spending visibility with detailed Amazon transaction data, customizable spending limits, and approval workflows for employees. The cards also include cashback rewards, access to flexible financing options for purchases, no annual or foreign transaction fees, and support for issuing unlimited virtual cards.
For existing American Express cardholders, accounts will migrate to the new platform in August. The transition will be managed by the issuers, with rewards balances and account histories expected to transfer during the switchover.
However, moving off the American Express network likely means some legacy benefits tied to that ecosystem will not carry over once U.S. Bank assumes full servicing of the accounts. Features such as Amex Return Protection may be among the benefits phased out.
A Bold Move for U.S. Bank
For U.S. Bank, the partnership represents one of its most significant pushes yet into the small business space. While the bank has long maintained a strong presence in consumer and retail credit, aligning with Amazon gives it access to a substantial base of business customers and strengthens its standing among top-tier commercial card issuers.
“U.S. Bank has a large opportunity in front of them with the new Amazon Small Business Credit Card,” said Brian Riley, Director of Credit at Javelin Strategy & Research. “The bank has a stable of co-branded cards, including Harley Davidson and SKYPASS. The new card will allow them to expand beyond their growing retail banking footprint.”
Amex’s Positioning Shift
American Express is responding by introducing a new small business credit card lineup under the Graphite branding. While the loss of Amazon is notable, the company is positioning Graphite as a premium offering for small businesses.
“American Express will likely continue its aggressive play in small business credit cards,” Riley said. “With Amazon behind them, they will focus on their new Graphite Business Cash Card and add more card benefits, as they recently did with their ChatGPT business credit.”
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