Small Business News
Square and Amex Partnering for Small Business Seller Credit Card
Two major companies known for their efforts in assisting with the needs of small businesses will be teaming up for a new product. This week, Square and American Express announced plans to launch a credit card that’s specifically built for Square sellers. At this time, details about the card — including the benefits it will offer — have not yet been announced but are expected to be revealed next year.
According to Square, the card will be the first credit card it presents to its community of small business owners in the United States and the offering will integrate with the brand’s larger ecosystem. This will enable sellers to better manage their cash flow and other finances using the same platform. Although the new card will operate on the American Express network, it will not be issued by the brand. Instead, Celtic Bank will issue the card, which will also be “powered” by i2c Inc.
Announcing the upcoming product, Square Banking GM Luke Voiles stated, “Small businesses can struggle to find fair and simple solutions for their credit needs. Square has spent years building a successful lending program to eliminate this barrier for sellers, and we’re uniquely positioned to innovate even further in this space to expand access to new types of credit product.” Voiles added, “We wanted to create a product on a payment network that has a strong track record of supporting small merchants, making this card a natural progression of our existing relationship with American Express.”
Meanwhile, Amex’s SVP and GM of Global Network Services North America William Stredwick said of working with Square, “As champions of small businesses, our brands will offer a credit card product specifically designed for Square sellers, backed by the trust and security of the Amex network. Millions of small merchants already welcome American Express Cards through Square, and we look forward to expanding our relationship to further support the Square seller community with this innovative product.”
For American Express, this deal with Square continues a streak of partnerships that will see FinTech brands releasing cards that utilize the Amex network. In addition to inking a deal with Cardless, the company has also recently made pacts with WebBank and Cross River Bank.
Although the details of this new card will dictate whether or not it will ultimately be a good option for small business owners, the partnership between Square and American Express seems like a no-brainer given the emphasis that both companies have put on small business customers over the years. In fact, this announcement comes just ahead of Small Business Saturday — a retail holiday that Amex helped create. As we prepare to enter the holiday shopping season, hopefully we’ll hear more about this credit card from Square once the New Year rolls around.
