What Is Amex Express Checkout & How Does It Work? A Guide

When it came to online payment options, one of the best we’ve seen was Amex Express Checkout. It was a payment method offered by American Express in the years prior to 2020. It allowed American Express cardholders to complete online purchases securely, but at this point in time it’s no longer offered. American Express discontinued the Amex Express Checkout in 2020. Instead, cardholders now have the option to use Click to Pay, one of the broader online payment options available.

In this article we’ll be covering what Amex Express Checkout was, and why it worked so well!

Here’s What We’ll Cover:

What Was Amex Express Checkout?

What Merchants Were Available?

Did American Express Pioneer This?

Why Did It Go Away?

Key Takeaways

What Was Amex Express Checkout?

The credit card issuer, American Express, rolled the Amex Express Checkout system out in 2015. The service was used in conjunction with participating online merchants. They aimed to make every online purchase easier.

American Express focused heavily on the security aspect of online shopping. The company knew that whenever you used an online checkout program, there was no easy way to enter your credit card info. They also were aware that online merchants would save the information, making it vulnerable. Their aim was to increase their customers’ confidence in payment security. But how did they accomplish this?

Using Amex Express Checkout allowed users to skip entering their credit card info. Rather than having to enter the info on their American Express card, cardholders were given another option. When performing an online transaction card holders could use their American Express login. This could only be used with select merchants, however.

What Merchants Were Available?

American Express is known for being fairly exclusive. As such, the merchants that were selected for the program were somewhat exclusive, as well. They were carefully selected by the company based on what their card holders purchased. At launch, the following online retailers accepted Amex Express Checkout:

• Warby Parker
• Cole Haan
• Newegg
• Saban
• Ticketmaster
• The Wall Street Journal

The checkout experience for American Express customers on these websites was fast and friendly. The program saw such success that it eventually spread to other retailers, as well. This list of retailers included Gap, Intermix, Old Navy, and others. People were happy that they no longer had to enter their card details for every online purchase.

Did American Express Pioneer This?

Certainly not. Other companies like Visa and Mastercard had set something like this up in previous years. However, Amex did it best, without question. Because they are both a payment network and a card issuer, users didn’t have to set up multiple accounts. With their already existent American Express Card account, they were able to breeze through with just one login.

American Express did the best job of the fast, online checkout experience because it had more oversight on all parts of the process. They also offered a promotion for their customers who were trying the service for the first time. Users would receive a one-time $10 statement credit per merchant when they used the Express Checkout. This didn’t apply to just standard cards, either. It allowed users with small business credit cards to participate as well. American Express knew what they were doing when they rolled the offer out. It lasted 90 days, giving people plenty of time to take advantage of it.

Why Did It Go Away?

Amex Express Checkout discontinued its service in 2020. They transitioned their one-stop payment solution to Click to Pay.

What is Click to Pay?

Click to Pay is another secure online payment system. It has its advantages over all of the systems that came before it, even the Express Checkout offered by American Express.

This online payment system took the four major payment networks and unified them into one process. The payment options available on Click to Pay are:

• American Express
• Discover
• Mastercard
• Visa

Rather than having to enter information for these cards individually, you simply click a button. The information is stored on your Click to Pay account. Its distinct advantage over anything that came before it is its versatility. Before, each type of card needed its own account and payment method. Now, card details for all of your cards can be stored in one area. It’s fast and convenient.

Key Takeaways

Amex Express Checkout has gone the way of the dodo. In its place has come Click to Pay, a unified online payment method. Like what came before it, Click to Pay is fast and secure. If you’re looking for Amex Express Checkout, refer to Click to Pay. It’s a new and improved system, by far.

Be sure to visit our resource hub for more helpful articles like this! We have you covered when it comes to online payment methods.

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