The credit card issuer American Express and Crédit Agricole announced on Wednesday a partnership which will allow merchant clients of the French bank to collect payments from “AmEx” holders, in a context of strong competition between the giants of the sector .
All small merchants who do not yet accept American Express in the Crdit Agricole network will be able to offer it in a few months (…), says AFP Sophie Mahussier, general director of the American Express merchant network branch in France.
It’s a growing market, it’s a strategic market for us both locally and internationally, she continued, referring to French and foreign cardholders.
More than 70,000 merchant customers of the regional credit unions of Crédit Agricole will be equipped in the coming months, indicates a press release signed by the two companies, in addition to the 132,000 already acquired by the payment specialist in 2021 and 2022 and merchants referenced this year outside of this partnership.
American Express, however, refuses to share the total number of partner businesses in France.
The American payment network was already working with certain regional funds, but this is the first partnership at the national level.
Questioned by AFP, the general director of the payment division of Crdit Agricole Philippe Marquetty sees the opportunity to offer our merchants this acceptance in addition to other types of payment, which can be a differentiating factor compared to others. businesses in the same catchment area.
In addition, AmEx holders spend a little more and more often than other types of customers, underlines Ms. Mahussier.
The company is remunerated in particular by charging merchants commissions on transactions.
The commercial war between payment giants is intense in France, a country that has historically used the CB domestic network, developed by the Cartes Bancaires economic interest group to which Crdit Agricole notably belongs.
American Express’s market share is tiny, compared to CB and to a lesser extent the American giants Visa and Mastercard, but its use is progressing: in 2022, more than 4.3 million American Express card holders, French and foreign, have made at least one payment in France, 37% more than in 2019.