Amex accelerates its encroachment on business banking

• Key insight: American Express made several enhancements to its business banking product menu.
• What's at stake: Amex is competing with banks and fintechs to sell payments and other products to small businesses. 
• Forward look: The company plans to launch an AI-powered payroll system in early 2027. 

American Express has long used a mix of lending, payments technology and services as a way to threaten banks' hold on small businesses, a strategy it's updating with account enhancements and new artificial intelligence tools amid signs banks are ramping up small business loans.

Amex on Tuesday launched a high-yield American Express Business Savings Account and said later this year it will add ways for Graphite Business card members to redeem rewards for deposits into the Amex business checking account. And in early 2027, Amex plans to launch a new payroll system with "AI-powered insights."

"Businesses are looking for more value from their banking services, including competitive returns and simple tools that help them automate processes and fit seamlessly into how they operate," Eva Reda, executive vice president of global commercial services at American Express, said in a release. Amex did not comment by deadline. 

New business

Amex, which has offered a business checking account since 2021, has added a savings account with an annual percentage yield of 2.95% with no minimum balance requirement or monthly maintenance fees. Clients can make and receive transfers online or through Amex's app, using ACH, wire transfers or check deposits, at no cost. Or they can use same-day ACH for a $10 fee. 

The business account follows a March release of Graphite, Amex's business card, which offers 2% cash back in the firm of "rewards dollars" that can be redeemed as statement credit or at Amazon.com. 

Later this year, Amex will add a way for Graphite users to redeem these "reward dollars" for deposits into their American Express business checking accounts. Business checking and business savings accounts will be combined under American Express Business Banking, a portal where clients can apply for accounts and manage banking in a single location. 

Another product, slated for release in early 2027, will add a payroll system that will use AI from HR tech firm Gusto that automates payroll processing, manages federal, state, and local taxes, and supports payroll runs. Amex will also integrate benefits management, 401(k) plans, workers' compensation, time tracking, personal time off and compliance tools.

"This is about originating a full-service small business relationship: Banking, payroll, payments and ERP integration in one place," Richard Crone, a payments consultant, told American Banker, saying this could enable Amex to compete with banks and PayPal, Stripe and payment facilitators that are trying to own the SMB operating relationship. "If Amex owns a mission-critical workflow like payroll, it is positioned to capture the payment that follows."

Amex is also addressing a bigger competitive threat of agentic business origination, according to Crone, noting Meta Muse's "Business in a Box" suggests an environment where someone with a business idea can use the Muse "Personal Agent" to agentically create their new business presence and provision all the services needed to operate with one-stop shop from Meta. "That is what banks and Amex ultimately have to position against," Crone said.

Small business battle

The new tools will join other business banking products at Amex such as a digital cash flow hub that enables small business-owners to view card balances, bank accounts and loans, including those in external accounts through data aggregation. 

Merchant services are about 6% of Amex's revenue, a percentage it is hoping to boost as part of a strategy to be a "small business digital bank." 

"We are encouraged by three consecutive quarters of SMB billings growth of 3%-4% at Amex, yet sense Amex has yet to reach an inflection point as the business grew at a 9% compound annual rate between 2010 and 2019," William Blair said in a research note. "We understand 2026 will mark one of the most significant expansions of its business solution capabilities in recent years, which may help drive additional traction."

In another research note, analysts at Jefferies noted Amex is expanding its AI capabilities, noting productivity gains in software development and testing from AI‑enabled tools.

"Critically, these efficiencies are being recycled into more features and faster delivery, not cost takeout. "Amex is working with leading AI companies to make membership assets discoverable and actionable in addition to AI-powered experiences across the platform."

This includes commercial product expansion, Jeffreis said, noting Amex plans to release several new or enhanced products, benefits and capabilities, including a new corporate cash back card and expense management software. "This is the most significant one-year commercial product expansion at Amex," Jeffries said.

Amex is also releasing its enhancements as small businesses face challenges in a variety of areas, including macroeconomic pressure, cash flow, hiring and adapting to new technology, according to an analysis from Network Solutions.

Amex executives in earnings calls have said the firm is not concerned about short-term impacts on small businesses, and is taking a long view as Amex builds small business banking tools following its 2020 acquisition of small business lender Kabbage. During the pandemic and the period that shortly followed, Amex was leaning into a period in which there were predictions that banks would shy away from small business lending, with Amex preparing to fill a gap.

There are signs that banks are returning to small business loans, which could heighten the competition for both banks and Amex. 

In the first quarter, new small business lending increased when compared to the same period in 2025, driven by an increase in new lines of credit at large and mid-sized banks, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City survey issued in June. The survey found that outstanding loan balances increased slightly when compared to the same period in 2025. Interest rates offered at rural banks for new term loans and new lines of credit continued to decrease, while most interest rates offered at urban banks increased.

In a recent survey of small business owners conducted by the Kansas City Fed, 144 respondents reported more than $72 billion in loans, which indicated stronger loan demand for the first time since the first quarter of 2022, according to the Kansas City Fed. 

Among other card firms, Mastercard has also weighed in with a new product designed for its issuing banks. Mastercard introduced the Mastercard Collection for Business, a suite of growth, lifestyle and security benefits designed for SMBs, including cybersecurity protection, premium travel benefits and other products. The card network also released its Dreamonomics report, a survey of more than 6,000 SMBs in 28 countries, which found that 95% of SMBs are already using digital payments, 90% are interested in switching to a business card, and 51% of business card users are already using or interested in a premium account.