American Express Co. is trying to expand the number of users for Serve, its new digital wallet service, through a marketing partnership with AOL Inc.'s Patch news network.
The agreement, announced Monday, will enable customers of Patch, which operates local news websites, to sign up for Serve accounts, through which they can fund prepaid payment accounts with existing credit and debit cards as well as bank accounts.
Customers also will be able redeem coupons and other offers through Patch's new Patch Deals platform using the wallet, with transactions running over Amex's payment network.
"Our collaboration with AOL's Patch increases the scale and reach of the Serve platform and helps bridge the divide between online commerce and offline deals in a way that benefits merchants and consumers," Dan Schulman, the group president for enterprise growth at Amex, said in a press release.
Warren Webster, the president of Patch Media, added in the release that the partnership will give users "an even stronger connection to their communities and the businesses in their area."
Amex debuted Serve, a service similar to eBay Inc.'s PayPal network, in March. Serve allows consumers to pay for purchases at online and physical merchants that accept Amex cards. The company has been testing the service with merchants in Eugene, Ore.
