Dubai: American Express’ business in the UAE is growing at a very healthy pace, Mazin Khoury, CEO of American Express Middle East, said, as more high-income earners use cards for shopping than cash.
“We are growing … we are growing at a very healthy rate and a very encouraging pace especially in the UAE and across the gulf,” Khoury said. He declined to give any further details.
AMEX plans to make use of the survey findings on changing spending habits as part of its strategy and work according to consumer needs. The company interviewed more than 850 people across the Mena (Middle East and North Africa) region of which 14 per cent were clients of Amex.
American Express began operations in the Mena region in 1959 and set up its first office in Bahrain in 1977. The company operates in 16 countries across the Middle East and North Africa.
American Express Middle East employs more than 500 staff in the Mena region, covering its consumer card, corporate payments and merchant businesses.
Operational in 130 countries:
The company is operational in more than 130 countries, with a total of $153 billion in assets and 107.2 million issued cards. Its net income was $5.36 billion worth a $952.4 billion of billed business worldwide.
Elsewhere in New York, American Express is reportedly seeking to use offerings like Bluebird, a reloadable prepaid card in partnership with Wal-Mart Stores, to expand its reach beyond affluent shoppers and attract consumers who lack access to traditional banking services.
The company said on September 30 that its group president of enterprise growth, Dan Schulman has left the company to join eBay Inc, where he will become chief executive for their PayPal Business.
“ ... while PayPal is a competitor of ours in many respects, they are also one of our largest merchant partners, and I hope and expect that our paths will continue to cross with Dan’s in the future,” Kenneth I. Chenault, global chief executive officer of AMEX, said in a statement on Tuesday.
Dan’s decision comes against the backdrop of eBay’s plans, announced on Tuesday, to spin off PayPal as a separate, stand-alone company.
The company also appointed Neal Sample, enterprise growth’s chief information officer and chief marketing technologist, to lead the group.
