Now, street hawkers will swipe elite Amex card
MUMBAI: The world's most exclusive card - the American Express Centurion or Amex Black Card -might soon be accepted by hawkers at Janpath in Delhi and in other tourist spots like Jaipur.
The premium card issuing company, which typically ties up with high-end merchants, is looking down the value chain as international shoppers are seeking acceptance at smaller outlets.
American Express India has also tied up with SBI and ICICI Merchant Services for card acceptance.
While on the one hand Amex has tied up with other banks for enrolling merchants, on the other it is roping in merchants using the newly launched BharatQR code -a scan-and-pay feature that allows shops to collect payment from credit cardholders with smartphones, even without installing a card swipe machine.
"The BharatQR is a global first and I think we are on to something big here. I am sure there will be lot of acceptance in other countries as well because interoperability is the key," said Amex India CEO Manoj Adlakha.
According to him, Amex customers are likely to be fast adopters of BharatQR since all of them have smartphones and it will be a faster mode of payment. "It might not happen in a five-star lobby. But our customers travel. We are already acquiring merchants at Janpath where a lot of our overseas members shop," he said.
The other reason for increasing acceptance network is the rapid increase in its cardholder base. "We issue cards in 14 cities and it is our endeavour to get maximum share of customer wallet even when they are travelling," said Adlakha. Amex has seen its billings grow 3540% as against 25% for the card industry. "Some of this has of course been due to demonetisation, but a lot is regular growth because of the fact that we are adding more customers and more merchants," he said.
He said one of the strengths of Amex was the healthy dispute resolution where the bank immediately compensates customers for any fraud on the card. "We have a healthy charge-back system. If a customer disputes a transaction, we immediately give him temporary credit for the disputed amount.Then we start the investigation," said Adlakha.
The premium card issuing company, which typically ties up with high-end merchants, is looking down the value chain as international shoppers are seeking acceptance at smaller outlets.
American Express India has also tied up with SBI and ICICI Merchant Services for card acceptance.
While on the one hand Amex has tied up with other banks for enrolling merchants, on the other it is roping in merchants using the newly launched BharatQR code -a scan-and-pay feature that allows shops to collect payment from credit cardholders with smartphones, even without installing a card swipe machine.
"The BharatQR is a global first and I think we are on to something big here. I am sure there will be lot of acceptance in other countries as well because interoperability is the key," said Amex India CEO Manoj Adlakha.
According to him, Amex customers are likely to be fast adopters of BharatQR since all of them have smartphones and it will be a faster mode of payment. "It might not happen in a five-star lobby. But our customers travel. We are already acquiring merchants at Janpath where a lot of our overseas members shop," he said.
The other reason for increasing acceptance network is the rapid increase in its cardholder base. "We issue cards in 14 cities and it is our endeavour to get maximum share of customer wallet even when they are travelling," said Adlakha. Amex has seen its billings grow 3540% as against 25% for the card industry. "Some of this has of course been due to demonetisation, but a lot is regular growth because of the fact that we are adding more customers and more merchants," he said.
He said one of the strengths of Amex was the healthy dispute resolution where the bank immediately compensates customers for any fraud on the card. "We have a healthy charge-back system. If a customer disputes a transaction, we immediately give him temporary credit for the disputed amount.Then we start the investigation," said Adlakha.
