[uf00lme]

Amex is a different model, their customers are card holders and not businesses. In their view of the world businesses must pay to access their customers.

It will be interesting to see Google or Apple's long term play in this market, I would love it if they started providing banking services. Just so it interrupts the currently market where the middle men provide little to no real value to the general public.

[maxerickson]

Amex has credit cards with no annual fees, they have the same incentives as other networks and issuers.

[uf00lme]

Their no fee cards are not their primary card base. As a vertical provider, they simply charge merchants more, and use that money to look after their customers more so than other majors. In general try to do a charge back with Amex vs other majors and watch what happens. Amex usually screws merchants more much than other payers, at least in APAC and EMEA. I don’t know American markets as much but I assume the model holds true.