Research commissioned by American Express shows 71% of Australians say they feel stressed by all the bills they need to pay 4. Separate research conducted by ASIC shows 52% of insolvent businesses in Australia report inadequate cash flow as a leading cause.5
As cost-of-living pressures mount, American Express data shows that Victorians and Victorian small businesses are asking to be allowed to pay with their preferred payment method to pay essential bills, including water and utility bills. For many of them, that’s American Express.
American Express is known to many VicWater members, both as a long-time sponsor of the annual VicWater conference, and as a payment provider across all tiers of government, government agencies and statutory bodies across Australia.
Recently American Express has undertaken a wide range of research on their Card Member’ experience, and it has shown a growing demand for American Express acceptance.
Partnering with American Express doesn’t just support a better customer experience, it is a way for VicWater members to support customers in making essential payments.
Who is American Express?
American Express — or Amex as it is also known — is a leading issuer of Personal, Small Business and Corporate Credit and Charge Cards.
Acceptance of American Express has never been greater.
More places continue to welcome American Express payments, giving Amex Card Members more places to use their Cards. Since 2017, we have more than tripled the number of locations worldwide that accept American Express to more than 89 million.
Why should VicWater members partner with American Express?
- Every year, American Express conducts a ‘Perception of Coverage’ survey among its Card Members who consistently say the number one place they want to be able to use their Cards is on government services, especially paying water and utility bills. *1
- Argus Data Services shows American Express Card Members spend 4.7 times more than non-American Express Card Members across the government services industry. *2
- American Express is the largest issuer of Cards for small businesses in Australia3 and can help small business customers pay their bills on time with Cards that offer up to 55 days of extended cash flow benefits. (T & Cs apply)
Other benefits of accepting American Express
With more and more Australians using American Express there are many benefits from giving your customers the freedom to pay with their Card of choice.
Partnering with American Express may enable VicWater’s members to:
- Increase the speed of payments, helping their customers to pay on time.
- Provide flexibility and reward benefits to residents and small businesses.
- Support local businesses to better manage cashflow; and
- Access valuable data on payments and transactions.
How can you work with American Express?
Contact Lisa Amad, Senior Strategic Partnership Manager lisa.m.amad@aexp.com.au 0411 731 588.
Source *1: American Express 2022 Perception of Coverage Research Report
Source: *2 Multiplier for VMC Data and Amex Credit and Charge provided by Argus Data Services year Ending December -2023, Proxy applies to Amex Internal data of CM spend
Source: *3 KAE, https://www.kae.com/ ranked on industry volume
Source: *4 The research was commissioned by American Express and conducted by Lonergan Research, surveying 1,017 Australians aged 18+. Surveys were distributed throughout Australia including both capital city and non-capital city areas. The survey was conducted online amongst members of a permission-based panel, between 19 July and 24 July 2023.
Source *5 ASIC 2023 media release annual corporate insolvency statistics.
