Amazon approaches U.S. card issuance with a Chase-branded consumer card (this one is in constant use in my household), a PLCC card (issued by Synchrony), and small-business credit cards. The strategy is to link your Prime account to the card and generate reward points.
A Shift in Partners
U.S. Bank announced it had won the small-business card issuance program, which American Express has issued for the past five years. U.S. Bank is a top card issuer and has a strong presence in retail credit cards, with a cluster of co-brands and feature-rich card programs that range from a baseline secured card to the U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve Visa Infinite card, which faces off with the Chase Sapphire. U.S. Bank also has a global merchant acceptance network and Elan, which issues more than 1,000 white-label credit cards for small banks and credit unions.
American Express is launching a new line of small-business credit cards under the Graphite moniker. We think Graphite is a top credit card plan for small businesses, so the loss of Amazon will probably be limited for Amex. For U.S. Bank, which has been on the cusp of becoming a top small-business card, it lands them squarely in the top tier.
A Global Patchwork of Partners
As you expect with a global firm, Amazon localizes its issuance strategy. They do not have a card issuance partner in Australia, Canada, or France, but they are strong in several markets. Santander issues the co-brand in Austria and Germany. In the UK, Barclays is the partner, and in the United Arab Emirates, it is Emirates Islamic Bank.
In summary, Amazon is moving from Amex to U.S. Bank. It won’t hurt American Express, which is also rolling out the Graphite small-business card suite. For U.S. Bank, it firmly establishes them as a top-tier small-business card issuer. And for Amazon, they bring a bank card issuer running on the Mastercard rails, running in parallel with the consumer card, which Chase issuers run through Visa.
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