Small Business News

American Express to Acquire Tock from Squarespace

by Kyle BurbankJun 21, 2024

American Express is expanding its dining platform with not one but two acquisitions.

About the acquisitions:

Today, Amex announced that it will be acquiring the restaurant reservation service Tock from Squarespace (who purchased the company in 2021). The purchase is expected to be for $400 million in cash but is subject to closing conditions, customary adjustments, and regulatory approval. Amex also notes that, as part of the deal with Squarespace, the two companies will partner “to deliver additional value to small businesses that use American Express Cards.” In particular, they mention their Amex Offers program as well as other Card Member benefits.

In addition to Tock, American Express also announced that it’s purchasing Rooam. The platform — which has become a technology partner for several restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues — offers mobile payments, point-of-sale integrations, loyalty program systems, and more. Financial details for this acquisition were not disclosed.

These two additions come five years after American Express’s purchase of Resy. According to the company, these acquisitions will bring new capabilities to that service and give restaurant owners more options. Today, Amex has continued to leverage Resy in a number of ways, most recently adding a Resy dining credit to Delta SkyMiles Reserve Card,

What they’re saying:

Commenting on the acquisition of Tock, the company’s head Matthew Tucker stated, “American Express has demonstrated its commitment to the hospitality industry, and we believe that as part of American Express, Tock will deliver enhanced value to our customers through access to a broad network of diners. We appreciate American Express’ recognition of Tock’s exceptional products, experienced team, and our first-rate customer base. We look forward to working together to broaden American Express’ world class dining program and are excited by the tremendous opportunity to continue to innovate on behalf of our customers as part of American Express.” We are also deeply appreciative of Squarespace’s support of Tock’s vision and its commitment to the business over the past three years.”

Speaking on how these businesses will benefit the Resy platform, the company’s CEO and Amex Global Dining VP Pablo Rivero said, “These acquisitions will enhance our dining platform and help us continue to support the industry’s growth.”

As for Rooam, the platform’s co-founder and CEO Junaid Shams said, “We built Rooam to make it easy for restaurants and entertainment venues to use major point of sale providers with other key technology systems crucial to hospitality operations. Combining our capabilities with American Express and Resy will power payments, marketing, and loyalty programs for hospitality providers, bringing together the digital tools they need in one platform.”

My thoughts:

With these acquisitions, it almost seems as though Amex is aiming to be the Square of table service dining systems. Anecdotally, I’ve encountered Tock far more than I have Resy, leading me to believe that this will represent a major expansion for the latter. But, of all the news to come out of the announcement, the tease of Amex and Squarespace partnering on cardholder offerings stood out the most. Considering that Amex regularly refreshes its products and has embraced a model of hiking annual fees while adding various credits to their cards, I would not be at all surprised if a monthly (or yearly) Squarespace credit were to come to one or more Amex cards in the years ahead.

Author

Kyle Burbank

Head Writer ~ Fioney

Kyle is the head writer for Fioney. He is a personal finance nerd, constantly looking for new apps and services to test and incorporate into his own financial game plan. In addition to his role at Fioney, he's written for other publications including Born2Invest, Lifehack, and Laughing Place, as well as his own site Money@30. He also creates personal finance and travel-related videos for Fioney's YouTube channel, which has garnered more than 2 million views. Currently, Kyle resides in Springfield, Missouri with his wife of 10 years. Together, they enjoy traveling (including visiting Disney Parks around the world), dining, and playing with their dog Rigby.

Citi to Become Exclusive Issuer of American Airlines Credit Cards

by Kyle BurbankDec 5, 2024

American Airlines and Citi have reached a new agreement for their co-branded rewards credit card partnership — which will also push a different issuer out of the picture. About the new agreement: Today, Citi and American Airlines revealed that they've signed a deal to extend their co-branded partnership. The new agreement is for 10 years and comes after 37 years of the two companies working together. As part of the...

woman standing in front of Small Business Saturday sign

Small Business News

2024 Small Business Saturday Spending Totals $22 Billion

by Kyle BurbankDec 4, 2024

The results from the 15th annual Small Business Saturday are in. About Small Business Saturday 2024 spending: With Small Business Saturday taking place on November 30th, the impact of this year's event is now being seen. According to figures from American Express — the credit card issuer that founded Small Business Saturday in 2010 — consumers in the United States are projected to have spent $22 billion at independent shops and...

AMEX Gold card moving to an AMEX Green card

Credit Card Reviews

Why I Downgraded From the Amex Gold Card to Amex Green Card

by Kyle BurbankDec 3, 2024

This week, I did something I'd never actually done before: I canceled a credit card. Well, technically, I did a product change — but that's close enough. That's right, I made good on my threat to ditch the Amex Gold Card after the recent update and, instead, will now be an Amex Green Card customer for the first time. So, why did I decide to make this change, what was the...