American Express Launches Digital Receipt Transparency Tool

Need to Know

• American Express has introduced Digital Receipts, a new tool that allows customers to view more details about each of their transactions.
• The details include order number, date of order, item(s) purchased, details of cost, and merchant description.
• Digital Receipts are designed to reduce the number of calls inquiring about transaction details as well as reduce the number of payment disputes.
• The service offering is the latest in a wide range of new digital features launched by American Express this year with the intention of supporting customers virtually through the pandemic.

Analysis

In its latest bid to expand its digital offerings, American Express has launched Digital Receipts. Now, US Amex card users can access more details from every purchase digitally through their online accounts. 

By logging into their account or mobile app, Amex cardmembers can now view the order number, date of order, item(s) purchased, details of cost, and merchant description of purchases made. 

The new feature is designed to reduce the number of payment disputes (an issue that has grown massively since the onset of the pandemic and influx of fraudsters), as well as reduce the number of calls related to transaction inquiries. 

Of surveyed customers and merchants, the majority of both agreed that digital receipts would improve customer satisfaction, and 81% of customers said the tool would make it easier to distinguish between fraudulent and legitimate charges.

Digital Receipts are available on any purchase made from participating merchants; that is, any of the millions of merchants using Square, as well as large digital merchants like Google and Microsoft. 

Competitor institutions like Mastercard and Barclays have also introduced features designed to improve transaction transparency and reduce fraudulent purchases. 

Mastercard partnered with fraud protection provider Ethoca to launch a new tool that offers customers better real-time transaction data, which will display the company’s logo and more detailed company names in the transaction history.  

And Barclays launched a new tool that allows customers to see itemized receipts for purchases. The tool, also called Digital Receipts, can be accessed through the Barclays app. 

In the past year, Amex has introduced a wide range of digital offerings to keep up with the growing need for digital-first banking. 

The long-standing financial services company has launched a new suite of credit management tools, including a credit score goal-tracker called Score Goals, a new flex payment feature called Pay Over Time (to keep up with the rising popularity of buy now, pay later apps), and expanded their virtual Card payment functionality to now include the UK, Australia, and the United States.