Ameriprise Financial Inc., the Minneapolis financial advisory company that American Express Co. spun off in 2005, has begun issuing credit and debit cards that run on MasterCard Inc.'s network.
Abu Arif, a vice president and the general manager of payments and deposits at Ameriprise's $1.6 billion-asset savings bank, said in an interview Monday that his company will continue to market Amex platinum and gold cards to clients.
However, Ameriprise "wanted to provide broader choice to clients," Mr. Arif said.
MasterCard is accepted at more merchants than Amex, he said, and MasterCard "has made progress in developing a value proposition for the affluent market, which is our segment."
Ameriprise's offerings include a World MasterCard, for customers who earn at least $125,000 a year, and a World Elite MasterCard, which usually is reserved for consumers who earn more than $250,000. Neither product has a fixed credit limit — charges are approved according to the cardholder's use and payment history.
Barclays PLC's U.S. card division is handling account acquisition, marketing, fulfillment, billing, customer support, rewards, and other program management services for Ameriprise.
