Federal investigators study AmEx card selling practices

Federal investigators are investigating the business card selling practices of American Express, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Inspectors General of the Treasury Department, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Federal Reserve are investigating whether AmEx uses aggressive and misleading selling tactics to sell cards to business owners and whether customers have been harmed. Some people said that they also study whether specific employees contributed to the alleged behavior and whether high-level employees support it.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is also investigating AmEx’s business card selling practices, according to people familiar with the matter.

More than a dozen current and former AmEx employees He previously told the Wall Street Journal Some salespeople with powerful guns or misled small business owners to sign up for cards to increase sales numbers. They said some salespeople misrepresented rewards and card fees, or issued cards that customers did not order. A spokesperson for AmEx said at the time that the company had only found very few issues, which had been resolved „urgently and appropriately“, including through disciplinary action.

An AmEx spokeswoman said this week: „We have strong compliance policies and controls, and we do not tolerate misconduct.“