1 Based on internal comparison of American Express small merchant locations in December 2016 to American Express small merchant locations in December 2017.² Based on a comparison of aggregated US Merchant dispute and transaction data from 2017 to 2015, the year before the applicable disputes policy enhancements took effect.³ Nilson Report #1,103, February 2018. Spend per card derived from U.S. year-end purchase volume divided by year-end cards in force (CIF), not from individual consumer-level data. CIF represents the number of cards issued and outstanding with cardholders. Average non–American Express spend per card includes Visa, MasterCard and Discover credit and charge card volume and CIF and excludes debit volume and CIF.4 Nilson Report #1,103, February 2018. Transaction Size derived from U.S. year-end purchase volume divided by year-end purchase transactions, not from individual consumer-level data. Average non–American Express transaction size includes Visa, MasterCard and Discover credit and charge cards and excludes debit volume and transactions.5 Based on an analysis of American Express merchant recommendations in 2017.6 The statistic cited is an estimate based on projections from a nationally representative sample of adult consumers as reported in the post-2017 Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey commissioned by American Express and the National Federation of Independent Businesses. The Survey gathered self-reported data and does not reflect actual receipts or sales.

With more ways than ever to deliver, the OptBlue® program makes acceptance easier to sell. So

you can feel empowered to serve your merchants with benefits that matter:

One way to make merchants happier? Merchants saw over 700K fewer disputes in 2017 following the changes we made in our

policies.2 Disputes policies have been updated to maintain fairness and transparency, which

may lead to:

Fewer chargebacks

Disputes that are easier to manage

And even more changes

Visit OptBlue.com/Disputes for details.

Looking for help closing the deal? Visit the Resource Center for instant access to free sales

tools—another way we have your back.

Sales aids for you Be prepared with helpful references like the Merchant Activation Guide and tips on overcoming objections

Resources for your merchants Don’t arrive empty-handed—give them leave-behinds about how to attract customers for free

Newsletter from OptBlue

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GET FREE SALES TOOLSACCEPTANCE THAT’S EASIER TO SELL

“American Express is important to us because it allows us to get in front of more merchants and more revenue streams naturally.” —Dharma Merchant Services

Visit OPTBLUE.COM/AGENT for access to free sales tools and more.

Name the price

You can structure a price that works for both you and your merchants.

Offer one fast payment Merchants get paid at the same time as all of their other card brands.

Deliver one simple statement

They save time with one statement from their provider for all their accepted cards.

Helping you do more business is our business. See the powerful backing of our partnership.

GIVE MERCHANTS MORE WAYS TO GROW

DID YOU KNOW? DRIVE MORE REVENUEPromoting American Express is more important than ever to stay competitive in today’s world. Here’s why.

American Express acceptance could help drive more revenue per transaction compared to other general-purpose credit cards.

Be different. Offer more than just card acceptance to your portfolio.

Free promotion for your merchants

Help your merchants attract more customers for free. How? By accepting American Express,

your merchants are eligible to be recommended to our Card Members—an easy, unique, free

way for you to win them over.

Help drive more sales on

Small Business Saturday®

Celebrated on the first Saturday after Thanksgiving, Small Business Saturday was created

to help small merchants do more business. In fact, an estimated 108 million consumers

reported shopping or dining at local independently owned businesses on Small Business

Saturday 2017.6

1.5 million+ more places accepting

With 1.5 million+ more places in the U.S. welcoming American Express® Cards in the last year,1

more merchants than ever are seeing the value of acceptance.Higher spend

On average, the annual spend of an American Express®

Card Member is 3.1X that of non–Card Members3

Larger transactions

On average, the transaction size of an American Express

Card Member is 1.8X that of non–Card Members4

NEW pricing and policy changes

Emerging Market Pricing A NEW fee structure means lower rates and adjusted tier ranges in select industry

categories (April 2018). New wholesale fees are in place for Education and Government

industries, and we’ve removed the $1 million American Express charge volume cap for

new, non-Amex-accepting merchants in the Hospital and Education industries (Fall 2017).

Expanded Eligibility OptBlue has expanded eligibility to 273 franchise brands, removed the $1 million Amex

charge volume cap on those franchises, and waived the existing Merchant Access Fee and

other requirements (Fall 2017).

Visit OptBlue.com/Agent to see the full list of MCCs and 273 franchise brands.

Free products that help boost salesDecals: storefront decals that help

welcome more customers.

Supplies: check presenters, tent cards

and other supplies to display acceptance.

Digital Signs: downloadable logos for

websites, checkout pages or digital invoices.

3.1X

1.8X

AM

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ICA

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XP

RE

SS

$145

$89 $81

$58

MA

ST

ER

CA

RD

VIS

A

DIS

CO

VE

R

LOS ANGELES AREA

+88,000

BOSTON AREA

+27,000

CHICAGO AREA

+45,000

SAN FRANCISCO AREA

+33,000

MINNEAPOLIS-SAINT PAUL AREA

+19,000

SEATTLE-TACOMA AREA

+25,000

NEW YORK AREA

+98,000

DALLAS-FORT WORTH AREA

+42,000

ATLANTA AREA

+35,000

PHOENIX AREA

+26,000In 2017, over 15 million people received recommendations on where to shop5

Order free products at AmericanExpress.com/MerchantSignage.

ACCESS CODE: AMEXSIGNTO UNLOCK MORE PRODUCTS