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Build Financial Confidence

We are committed to providing responsible, secure and transparent products and services to help people and business build financial resilience.

Build Financial Confidence Goals

At American Express, building financial confidence – for our colleagues, our customers, and in our communities – is a natural extension of our role as a global financial services leader and is a core pillar of our ESG Strategy.

  • Provide access to credit to at least 4 million individuals from underserved or underrepresented populations from 2021 through 2025
  • Provide at least 5 million individuals with tools, resources, and educational content to improve financial well-being from 2021 through 2025
  • Support small businesses, including by reaching $100 billion in spending by consumers at small, independently owned retailers or restaurants on Small Business Saturday and during other Shop Small campaigns from 2021 through 20251
  • Invest $500 million to build more resilient and equitable communities from 2021 through 2025
Footnotes

1Based on spend as reported by consumers in surveys commissioned by American Express (not actual receipts or sales)

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2021-2022 Progress & Highlights

  • Backing Small: Our new Community giving category “Backing Small” brings together grant programs to build financial confidence and support small business: $17M pledged through 2024 to support economically vulnerable or underrepresented small business owners
  • $23.3B in reported spending by US consumers on Small Business Saturday in 2021 1
  • $265M in community development loans and investments through the American Express Center for Community Development in 2021
  • 4.5M enrolled users of MyCredit Guide, a free service that gives consumers access to their credit scores, along with tools and information to help them take charge of their credit, as of May 2022
Footnotes

1The American Express 2021 Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey was conducted by Teneo on behalf of American Express and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). The study is a nationally representative sample of 2,426 US adults 18 years of age or older. The sample was collected using an email invitation and an online survey. The study gathered self-reported data and does not reflect actual receipts or sales. It was conducted anonymously on November 28, 2021. The survey has an overall margin of error of +/- 2.0%, at the 95% level of confidence. Projections are based on the current US Census estimates of the US adult population, age 18 years and over.

Data Protection & Privacy

Protecting our corporate, customer, and colleague information is a priority for us. With cybersecurity threats on the rise, we continue to enhance our global security measures. Our information and cybersecurity program is designed to identify risks and protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of our data, as well as our information systems. The program is built upon a foundation of advanced security technology, a well-staffed and highly trained team of experts, and robust operations based on the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework. This consists of controls designed to identify, protect, detect, respond, and recover from information and cybersecurity incidents.

American Express maintains industry-leading fraud rates among major card networks through practices that engage customers and merchants, respond to escalating threats, leverage new technologies, and more. American Express has maintained the lowest US fraud rates among major credit card networks for the past 15 years, according to the February 2022 Nilson Report.

Learn more in our 2021-2022 ESG Report, 2022 Proxy Statement, 2021 Annual Report, Data Protection and Privacy Principles, Privacy Statement, and Privacy Center.

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esg-report
For more information on our Build Financial Confidence goals and initiatives, refer to our 2021-2022 ESG Report.
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