The long-time leader in issuing corporate cards, American Express has designed the Corporate Defined Expense Program to help companies manage short-term or special projects with greater control and less paperwork than traditional invoices and checks, yet without the upfront investment of pre-paid cards or cash advances.

The new cards allow companies to set their own expiration dates and spending limits, and pay for expenses only as they're incurred, saving money by freeing up cash flow, eliminating the costs of check issuance, and reducing the risk of cost overruns. Yet the cards offer managers the flexibility to adjust those limits as business needs and the economic climate change.

Launching this month as a new product for the large-market segment, after a successful in-market pilot with more than a dozen companies, the new card has already been applied to such varied expenses as:

• Employee relocation,
• Per-diem travel advances,
• Virtual office needs,
• Marketing project budgets,
• Educational seminars, and
• Temporary assignments.

“When we created the Corporate Defined Expense Program, we wanted to give clients the flexibility to tailor these cards to their needs – and we've been impressed with how many new definitions they've already come up with,” said Mitch Stevens, senior vice president, Global Business Development for Commercial Card, American Express Corporate Services. “We're launching the program with a multi-purpose Defined Expense Card, but as clients come up with creative new uses for the card, we will offer a growing family of new cards based on client needs.”

How It Works
The Corporate Defined Expense Program differs from the American Express® Corporate Card's traditional “no pre-set spending limit” model, which empowers road warriors to do business without hitting financial road blocks. The new program allows companies to set expiration dates and spending limits according to a particular project's needs.

The new Defined Expense Cards can be designed to expire after a company-determined period of two to 24 months, and carry a maximum spending limit, as well as monthly or per-transaction spending limits if necessary. An online administrative website, American Express @ Work, enables the program manager to issue, monitor and adjust limits on cards in real time from a central point.

Unlike pre-paid cards, the Corporate Defined Expense Program is centrally billed on a monthly basis, after expenses are incurred, enabling companies to spread out payments over the life of a project, a key requirement for liquidity-conscious finance managers, especially in a tough economic climate. Online reports improve a company's overview of spending in areas that traditionally have been managed with cash advances, invoices and checks, which are both labor-intensive and hard to analyze.

“CFOs hate to see money go out before it has to, and they like consolidating multiple invoices into a single monthly bill,” observed Stevens. “From the early response to our pilot, it's clear that our Defined Expense Card provides finance executives with a new and easy way to improve liquidity and control spending across a broad spectrum of expense categories.”

About American Express Corporate Services
American Express Corporate Services, which includes the American Express Corporate Card, Corporate Travel and Corporate Purchasing Card, assists companies in managing and controlling their corporate travel and purchasing expenses. It is the world's largest issuer of corporate cards, counting nearly 70 percent of the Fortune 500 and tens of thousands of mid-size companies among its global customer base.

American Express Company is a diversified worldwide travel, financial and network services company founded in 1850. It is a world leader in charge and credit cards, Travelers Cheques, travel, financial planning, business services, insurance and international banking.