Business Description

Overview American Express is a global payments and premium lifestyle brand powered by technology. Founded in 1850 and headquartered in New York, American Express’ card-issuing, merchant-acquiring and card network businesses offer products and services to a broad range of customers, including consumers, small businesses, mid-sized companies and large corporations around the world. Our range of products and services includes: • Credit and charge cards and complementary products and services, including travel, dining, lifestyle and expense management products and services • Banking and other payment and financing products and services, including deposits and non-card lending • Merchant acquisition and processing, servicing and settlement, fraud prevention, and point-of-sale marketing and information products and services • Network services These products and services are offered through various channels, including mobile and online applications, affiliate marketing, customer referral programs, third-party service providers and business partners, in-house sales teams, direct mail, telephone and direct response advertising. We were founded as a joint stock association and incorporated in 1965 as a New York corporation. American Express Company and its principal operating subsidiary, American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. (TRS), are bank holding companies under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (the BHC Act), subject to supervision and examination by The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the Federal Reserve). We principally engage in businesses comprising four reportable operating segments: U.S. Consumer Services (USCS), Commercial Services (CS), International Card Services (ICS) and Global Merchant and Network Services (GMNS). Corporate functions and certain other businesses are included in Corporate & Other. Our businesses function together to form our end-to-end integrated payments platform, which we believe is a differentiator that underpins our business model. For further information about our reportable operating segments, see “Business Segment Results of Operations” under “MD&A.” 1 Table of Contents Our Integrated Payments Platform and Technology Through our card-issuing, merchant-acquiring and card network businesses, we are able to connect participants and provide differentiated value across the commerce path. We maintain direct relationships with Card Members (as a card issuer) and merchants (as an acquirer), which provides us with access to information at both ends of the card transaction, distinguishing our integrated payments platform from the bankcard networks. Through contractual relationships, we also obtain information from third-party card issuers, merchant acquirers, processors and payment facilitators with whom we do business. Our integrated payments platform and the systems and infrastructure that underlie it provide us with data and analytics, while maintaining our commitment to respect Card Member preferences and protect Card Member and merchant data in compliance with applicable policies and legal requirements. Our models and analytical tools help us reduce fraud and underwrite risk, such as in determinations regarding the extension of credit. We also leverage our technology to provide differentiated value to customers, such as special offers and benefits to Card Members and targeted marketing and other information services for merchants and partners, as well as to develop and improve our customer interfaces and service capabilities to continue to deliver a high-quality customer experience. We also continue to explore ways to deploy new and developing technologies to enhance our payments platform and customer experience, such as uses for generative artificial intelligence (AI) and the integration of our products and services in agentic commerce. Card Issuing Businesses We are a leader in providing general purpose credit and charge cards to consumers, small businesses, mid-sized companies and large corporations. We offer a broad set of card products, rewards and services to this premium consumer and broad commercial customer base, in the United States and internationally, through our USCS, CS and ICS reportable operating segments.…