Credit Card

Credit card is a plastic card which contains your credit account established with a back or other credit card institution which allows you to buy or purchased items and goods and pay later. Many issues have arisen over the years arguing about having a credit card or not. Some are in favor, others oppose even if having a credit has been a part of American way of life. So let’s take a look on these arguments by presenting the advantages and disadvantages of having a credit card. First, let’s take a look on the disadvantages of credit cards.

Credit cards can be very costly if you do not watch how you spend it like if you’re using it even if you don’t need it. If you have credit card, you may be paying a high cost of your finance charges and the accompanying rates. Your debt load increased as well as your dept in income ratio. And because you are paying the interests and financial charges, there is a decrease to that amount that you should be saving in the bank. You have less money for household monthly expenses. You can easily overspend and create real bad financial difficulties (Kimberly Credit 2006).

When using a credit card, you don’t only pay for the amount you’ve spent, but you will also pay for the interests. This would mean that the item you bought would actually turn to be more expensive than its original cost. If your payment is late, there is of course a charge, and the average late charge is about $30 per day (Turner 2007). Only about 40% of credit card holders pay their bills on time every month, which means that the remaining 60% are in big debt which may rise exponentially. This pointed out by the U. S. Mint (The Mint 2007).

On the other hand, there are lots of advantages opposing the disadvantages in having and using a credit card. Credit cards give you a lot of convenience. This would be the biggest advantage of in using a credit card. You don’t have to dig around for cash, or try to find your checkbook in your bag, and it can be easily hand to the cashier or clerk. It is acceptable in the most part of the world. For example, you went to Spain, then you don’t have to write an American check, just hand your credit card (Edwards 2006). And you can buy the things you need right then and there even if you don’t have cash on hand.

Say for example you badly need something, you don’t have enough cash in you wallet, and so your credit cards will save you. Using credit cards will give you credit score that can be used for your future expenses, for example you will buy a house and lot. Your credit report will be updated every month where the lenders look at your transactions of bill payments and charges; it is like your financial life blood (Edwards 2006). If you pay off the entire balance every month, credit card can help you budget your monthly bills. You will know exactly how much you have to spend for a month (Edwards 2006).

There is also what we call credit card float, to avoid the interest charges. It is the time from which you are charged for an item you purchased and the due date of full payment. And you can really use this to your advantage because sometimes you will get another month to pay before they charge with additional interests (Edwards 2006). Many companies give rewards to the credit card holders. These include cash or money back, airline rewards, and other merchandise programs (Edwards 2006). The most popular award is that of airline, which gives you free life and baggage insurance.

You can also earn points and get free tickets (Lukac 2006). Another advantage in having a credit card is the protection for your money. If your credit card is stolen, you will only be responsible for the first $50 but if you reported immediately within 24 hours most likely that $50 will be waived. Also, in the event that merchant do not honor refund request, you can easily dispute the credit card and you have your credit card company to help you (Edwards 2006). With the advantages identified, despite the disadvantages given, I am taking the side which is in favor of having credit cards.

True that owning one will give you a lot of disadvantages but I believe that the problem lies on how you use your credit card. In using credit card, you should be responsible enough to pay for your bills every month and on time, so that you are not charged with big interests. One should also be disciplined in spending the money. Don’t use it on purchasing unnecessary things or else you might find yourself deep in debts. You just have to be watchful on your expenses so that you won’t end up having to pay the bill you are not capable of paying.

Again, it is a safe alternative to cash as your protection in theft. You don’t have to carry big amount of many because in case you need bigger amount of money, it bails you out those emergencies. You also build a good credit history which allows you to easily buy a house, a car or a lot because your credit history will serve as your credibility in paying. And of course, it gives you time to pay. If you don’t have money the moment you purchased an item, you still have time to save enough cash to pay the bill that will come (The Mint 2007). Credit card is also a very convenient transaction medium.

For example, you want to order or buy an item through the telephone or internet. Then, you only have to give your credit card numbers. Thus, it is more convenient than sending cash or check via mail because sending cash or check is not possible through this media. And your merchant doesn’t have to wait for your cash payment or check. They say that convenience of having a credit card can be a curse because if offers the instant ability to buy any product of item you want that very moment. But then, if you are responsible enough, then these will not be your problem.

Because if you are not responsible, most probably than not, your credit card will be overcharged (eFinanceDirectory 2007). Others say that people will fall into debt because of credit cards. However, this will only happen if the owner is irresponsible with their use of their credit card (The Mint 2007). If cardholders are well-informed about their bills, the only person to get into the debt he can not catch up is the one who chose to. There are also some people who have “earned” money through credit cards because they pay their bills on time.

A man named Sumeet Goel benefited a lot with the Reward Points Program of his credit cards, 3500 in just one year. His credit card was offered by a bank which gives as mush as 4% cash-back on department stores shopping and 2. 5% extra cash back on petrol purchases. “Remember ‘DISCIPLINE’ is the MAGIC word if you want to “earn” money & that too with free Credit ranging from 10-50 days instead of paying interest,” Goel said (Goel 2007). So you see, having a credit card is not really bad at all. The problem is not the card itself but the way the cardholder use it.

It takes a lot of responsibility in owning a credit card and a lot of discipline in using it. As long as you know how to use it wisely and carefully, you are free from all the problems that may arise if you become irresponsible. It would benefit you a lot if you use it wisely but it would be your silent killer if are not watchful. There are always positive and negative sides, the advantages and disadvantages of things. The key is to weigh each argument, look at the pros and cons, before deciding what really fits you and what will really benefits you in the long run.

Works Cited

1. “Advantages of Credit Cards.” 2007. The Mint. 6 November 2007 <http://www. themint. org/ kids/advantages-of-credit-cards. html>.
2. Edwards, Terry. “The Many Advantages of Credit Cards. ” 6 October 2006. Associated Content, Inc. 6 November 2007 <http://www. associatedcontent. com/article/68088/ the_many_advantages_of_credit_cards. html>.
3. Goel, Sumeet. “Credit cards can ‘earn’ you a lot of money. ” 17 August 2007. Rediff News. 6 November 2007 <http://www. rediff. com/getahead/2007/aug/17cards. htm>.
4. Lukac, Martin. “The Advantages of Credit Cards. ” 24 September 2006. Ezine Articles. 6 November 2007 <http://ezinearticles. com/?
5. The-Advantages-Of-Credit-Cards&id=309159>. Turner, Steven. “The Disadvantages of a Credit Card. ” 31 May 2007. Ezine Articles. 6 November 2007 <http://ezinearticles. com/? The-Disadvantages-of-a-Credit-Card&id=587001>.
6. “What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of using a credit card. ” 2006. Kimberly Credit, Inc. 6 November 2007 <http://www. kimberlycredit. com/advantages_disadvantages_ credit_card. htm>.
7. “What are the Disadvantages of Owning a Credit Card? ” 2007. eFinanceDirectory. 6 November 2007 <http://efinancedirectory. com/articles/What_are_the_Disadvantages_ of_Owning_a_Credit_Card%3F. html>.

Credit cards have become such a familiar feature of the life style in the world that it is difficult to imagine a consumer economy functioning without them. The credit cards are nowadays the most convenient of all types of payments. The boom of the credit card industry has affected everyone in the world of the “plastic money”. That was the name given to the credit card right after it was invented. Nowadays, the “plastic money” occupies a very important place in the economy of the country. “Settlements indicates that the number of credit cards in circulation increased 34 percent between 1988…..

The data also show that the value of credit card transactions increased 98 percent during the same period” (Yoo, p. s. 1997). A lot of reasons explain the fact that the credit cards are holding the most important place in the wallet and purses today. Behind these reasons , is hiding a crucial social phenomenon that has very bad consequences in the country, credit card abuse. Despite the measures taken by the officials, statistics prove that the number is increasing everyday. Today, Visa and Master card occupy an important place in the credit card marketplace but the pioneer in the business remains to be Diners Club.

In 1949, as the luncheon tables were cleared at the Major”s Cabin Grill, a popular New York restaurant of the period whose location next door of the Empire State Building was then a considerable asset, three men sat huddled over a prime table off to one side …. In their excitement, they called over Major, the proprietor and asked him how much he would pay for business that he would not ordinarily get. Without flinching, Major replied “7 percent” , number that established a major industry (Lewis, 1990). ` Those three men were Alfred Bloomingdale, Frank Mc Namara and Ralph Snyder.

They conceived a plan for a new type of credit card. Unlike the retail and gas credit cards, which were restricted in use to those industries, theirs would be “universal” card that allowed its holders to purchase goods and services at different places across the country. An industry was born, Diners Club As a matter of fact, the period right before the First World War, was the first year for a new industry, the credit card industry. Those first credit cards were not really credit cards as they are today because they served only for limited needs. They could be used only on a very low level. The use of credit cards by retailers began in 1914″ (Lewis, 1990).

Since that date there was an inconceivable growth of credit card production. Prior to World War I, few hotels, oil companies and department stores issued credit cards. Then in 1931 the airline companies introduced the credit cards in their business (Lewis, 1990). The evolution and the expansion of the card went lide the speed of light. The most important step was the introduction of the credit card to the Internet in the 90″s. Today, Web servers enable payments by credit card. A credit card transaction over the Internet is one of the most common types of payment.

If a merchant has an account with a merchant bank that offers Internet credit card processing, he would be able to accept credit card payment over the Internet (http://search. netscape. com). “There was an increase of $78 billion over 1994, in just one short year. We”ve been tracking it since 1980, and we”ve never seen that kind of increase before. ” (Glenn, 1984, pp. 857-68). What are the reasons that explain the fast increase of the use of the credit cards? As one reason that might explain the phenomenon, some people may think that carrying a credit card is much easier than having cash or a checkbook in their wallets or purses.

There is no doubt that the “plastic money” doesn”t bother in a wallet or a purse because of its tiny size. Another reason that may explain the credit card fever is that it allows its holders to spend the money they haven”t got yet. Actually, it looks like free money, although it really isn”t. That is the case of the college students who have credit cards and whose parents will pay the debt their child has created. The strongest argument that could be also the main reason the t explains the increasing number of credit card transactions is that a lot of low income-persons are carrying “plastic money” and are using it widely but not wisely.

When the time for paying off the balance due comes, a lot of people do not have enough money to clear their bills. Here is the beginning of a cycle that probably will never stop (Kathy and Bill B. “s case) until the credit card company or the banks realize that their customer”s debt is growing every month. Before any reaction of the creditors, the debt has reached an unbelievable amount. As a result of a non-payment of the bills, the problems in the credit card industry began. In addition to lost or stolen cards and billing errors, an uncontrollable phenomenon was born in the industry, fraud.

Two major aspects determine the fraud in the industry, stolen cards and the black market created around the “plastic money. ” In fact, counterfeiting credit cards has taken an important turn during the 60s. As expected, not long after they had instituted the unsolicited credit card programs in the late 1960s, the bank began to experience significant losses due to fraud (Lewis, 1990). Statistics prove how fast the fraud went up in the industry. In 1964, the U. S. Post Office investigated only fifteen cases of credit card fraud. Four years later, in 1968, that figure shot up to 360, and the following year, it more than doubled to 762.

In 1970, Andrew Brimmer, one of the Federal Reserve Board”s seven governors, showed that bank charge card losses had increased 50 percent that year to $115. 5 million or $3. 4 percent of $3. 4 billion in outstanding credit card debt (Lewis 1990). In 1971, the Los Angeles Police Department made public its first reported of counterfeiting credit cards. The counterfeiters, two women and one man who apparently had knowledge of at least one bank numbering system used authentic blank cards stock to succeed their operation (Lewis, 1990).

The very fast assumption of the abuse in the credit card industry made the banks and the credit card companies think about finding solutions that could stop this terrible phenomenon. Since the major source of losses in the industry was stolen cards, it was very hard for the credit card companies to find a solution that would stop fraud. The fraud in the credit cards industry had had an important impact in the economy of the United States such as financial losses. In 1973 alone, credit cards losses were estimated to be $288 million-or 1015 percent of the total credit card sales (Lewis, 1990).

The delinquency rate has risen four quarter in a row for the first time since 1991….. At the end of 1991, $3. 4of every $100 owed on credit card was delinquent, up eight percent from 1994 (Business Journal of Charlotte, 1996). Whose responsibility was it? In large part, the banks themselves were responsible for their continuing losses. In their desire to market their cards as actively as possible, they were reluctant to tarnish the image go the credit card by publicizing stories of thefts and losses , so they hid the information not to alarm potential cardholders(Lewis, 1990, p. 8).

The government may be held responsible as well because the government issues cards to the members for government travel expenses only. Unfortunately, those cards have been used for the purchase of liquors, jewelry and flowers (Fritz, S. 1996, March 16). That is another “ugly face” of credit card abuse. The people who were supposed to help the country to overcome the problems abuse intensify the situation. As the industry was growing, the banks and the credit card industries did not think of any alternative that would stop an eventual fraud in the industry.

The lack of management was one of the major sources of the problem. As one solution that had to be found, the credit cards companies invented the secured credit card that allows the customer to spend not more than what he or she has in his or her bank saving account. That seemed to be a good solution to stop the fraud but criminals are so good that they devised ways to tap into potentially lucrative market. By the mid 1970″s, the credit card companies installed their own law enforcement to fight credit card fraud, the Association of Credit Card Investigators (ACCI).

The role of this unit o the credit card companies was to have a better management of the growing number of customers. One measure initiated by the ACCI that proved effective was a combination of a post mailer with dual dating on the credit card. A dual dating enables the credit card Company to delay the effective starting date of the card until after it should have been received by the cardholder. The post mailer informed the intended cardholder that a card had been mailed to him or her and that the credit card Company should be notified if it had not yet been received.

As a result to the important measures taken by the credit cards companies, 75% drop in fraud in the first years (Ventura, 1992). Another preventive measure adopted by the credit cards companies was a warning bulletin alerting the banks and merchants to fraudulent cards. All the major credit cards companies did not approve this kind of measure. On one hand, American Express, Diners Club felt that the warning bulletins were necessary to control fraud as well as the misuse of cards by delinquents and overspenders.

On the other hand, Visa took the position that warning bulletins were not necessary and that sending postcard was enough. Statistics proved later that Visa was losing a higher percentage of its charge volume from fraud than American Express and diners Club(Lewis, 1990). The solution on the federal level would be an abolishment of the government credit card system as suggested republican George W. Gekas (R-Pa)(Los Angeles Times, 1996, March 16). In spite of the tough measures taken by the banks and the credit card companies, losses due to fraud continued throughout the 70s.

As the 80″s approached, the credit card companies overcome most of the legal and operational problems such as billing errors and the development of an efficient nationwide up-to-the-minute authorization system. A wide laws and regulations system now govern the functioning of the industry but still the fraud is inevitable. This number is still increasing due to the corruption of our society. The only way you can help to stop this is by changing the whole system. But then there will be some people who will pursue their illegal actions, and will find a way to abuse other systems also.

The strategy of a company requires constant updating. With the changing conditions of market and industry it is important for the Company to keep its strategy in tact with the changing environment. An out dated strategy cannot fulfil the needs of today’s global environment. In order to go through the updating process the company should carry on an audit to analyse which aspect requires improvement. It will specify what strategy is necessary to support the business operations, the information people use currently and the gaps in these functions and the business goals.

“As a merchant, the only way to remain competitive in today’s market is to maintain a web site that supports online credit card processing. With secure servers, automated transactions, and a new system for combating fraudulent transactions, credit card processing has become increasingly accessible. ” (Forbes. com) Although the installation of Payment Server software is not a very complicated process, but the other steps included in the whole process can be complex. Some of the additional steps are also attached with the process before the installation of Payment Server software.

These include obtaining a merchant account from a financial institution. Like all the other MIS some steps are also involved in planning a credit card implementation system to make it successful. These include:

1. “Setting the customer’s expectations appropriately prior to the implementation.
2. Clearly defining goals based upon realistic expectations.
3. Arrangement of the resources and preplanning.
4. Undertake the analysis of environment.
5. Consistent and patient effort.
6. Communication with all the stakeholders.
7. Buying-in and taking ownership of the implementation goals by management.
8. Ensuring ownership of the process by all involved parties. ” (Best Software Inc. )

In order to understand the credit card system it is important to identify the key players in the system. These include the cardholder, merchant, the card issuer, the acquirer and the card brand. The Cardholder: the party, which uses the card in order to make payment to the merchant against the service or the products. The Merchant: the person or the entity to which the payment is made against the purchase of the goods/services offered by the person or the entity.

The Card Issuer:

The institution, which issues the card to the credit card and maintains the account of the cardholder. The acquirer: The financial institution on the merchant’s end having the merchant’s account and is the receiver of the authorized sales slips. The card brand: These are the institutions, which perform the dual activity of issuance and receiver of the card. These institutions also play an important role in protecting and advertising the card brand. The rules and regulations for the cards followed are also prescribed by these institutions.

They also provide the network for the connectivity of all the involved institutions. The brand is mainly responsible for the credit based transaction and the payment in exchange to the merchant. (Turban et. al, 2000) Through the implementation of the credit card processing in shape of software and/or terminals the credit card details of the customers are checked. These details include the credit card numbers, expiration date, and other pertinent information. The system then remove money from the card of the purchaser of the good or services and deposits the amount in favor of the merchant or the seller of the service or product.

It is estimated that a successfully implemented online credit card processing can increase online business revenues anywhere from 50% to 400% making it the highly suggested technology for the businesses now days. In order to cater the differing business needs enormous software are available but the components of the system comprise a merchant account for immediate processing, secure and encrypted SSL (Secure Socket Layer) for secure transactions and a web-based terminal from which to access the account.

Mainly three types of online credit card processing are undertaken. The conventional method used before the advent of Internet was undertaken through the virtual terminal. It allows manual addition of mail and telephone credit card transactions. Through the simple integration method the merchant’s site is directly linked to the credit card and bank system, so that the transactions can be accepted over the Internet. The mechanism of the third type known as advanced integration method has comparatively more complicated mechanism as it uses the transaction gateway server.

All systems have some unique benefits attached to them including facility of manual transactions with the provision to access all the related information from the internet, facilitating the frequency of billing cycles and last but most important provision of protection against fraudulent transactions (Forbes. com) In most of the cases there are three methods which can be used these are Retail, Mail order/telephone order (MOTO), or e-commerce. In case a merchant is using all these payments methods simultaneously, the merchant will be required to have more than one merchant account.

This will impose a burden of additional setup and maintenance fees on the merchant. The famous and world-wide accepted Credit card companies, like VISA, MasterCard, American Express, etc. also impose a per transaction fee which ranges from $. 50 to $1. 00 at every transaction. The per transaction fee can be obtained from the bank or financial institution. The Process of using the Credit Cards: There are several different methods involved in the process of using the credit card system. These steps can vary depending upon the settlement between all the institutions involved (i.e. the brand, issuer and the acquirer although some major steps are common in the all the processes are as under:

♦ 1. The first step constitutes the issuance of the card to the holder.

• Usually the cardholder requests the bank in which he holds account for the card brand.
• application submitted by the applicant can be accepted or denied.
• In case of the acceptance of the application the applicant is provided by the card.
• The activation date of the card is on which the customer signs the back of the card.

♦ 2. The cardholder sends the required details to the merchant against the physical or online purchase of any service or product.

♦ 3. The merchant then sends the query to the Brand Company and the transactions are paid by credit. The Brand Company in shape of sales slip keeps a record of the transaction.

♦ 4. In the next step the merchant sells the slip to the acquiring bank and pays a fee for the service. The process is known as capturing process.

♦ 5. By the clearance of the Brand Company the acquiring bank is paid for the credit amount. The brand then seeks the clearance of the issuer bank.

♦ 6. In the last step the amount charged is transferred to the Brand from the issuer by deducting the same amount from the cardholders account in the issuing bank. (Turban et. al, 2004) The shopping cart collects all the related information about the product or service including all the related taxes, shipping charges, customer billing information and shipping information and prepares it for presentation to the payment gateway. The role of the payment gateway is to connect the Internet and the proprietary networks of banks. A separate certificate is required by each participating entity.

The information provided by the e-commerce solution is further go through the transaction processor in order to receive the reply. The reply can be as the approval, rejection or the failure of the transaction due to the lack of information or technical error. After the reply from the transaction processor the generated information is used to show the receipt page in case of approval. In the other two cases the other responses are shown according to the case. The processing of the transaction is generally dependent on the transaction processor.

The processor checks for the validity of the user credit card account. It is through the transaction processor the users credit card account is updated. After updating the processor sends the approval back to the gateway which returns it to the merchant’s e-commerce solution. The role of the credit card merchant account is limited to a simple bank account that holds the credit card transaction amounts temporarily and then transfers the funds to merchant’s checking account. There are a vast variety of e-commerce solutions available for the merchants.

A merchant must choose a “packaged” e-commerce solution, which can support several options for a payment gateway. Only that payment gateway should be culled which support the e-commerce solution possessed by the merchant. The choice of all the components of the system is inter linked with each other. A merchant account should be chosen which support the transaction processor eked by the gateway(s) the merchant’s e-commerce solution supports. The gateway options are prescribed by the e-commerce solution used by the merchant.

Hence the gateway options define the transaction processors with which they are compatible. The transaction processors direct the merchant towards the allowed accounts. The merchant account has the liberty of being used with any checking account. With the growing awareness the field has become vaster and more choices are available for the merchants to choose the right account for their business according to their budget and business circumstances. The field is glutted with the competitors providing better discount rates, lower up-front fees, lower gateway fees and lower transaction fees.

Although the process of the credit card payments over the Internet is a confusing process but if started from the right place it can be get. Below some of the fees expenses are mentioned which will be incurred at merchant while maintaining a merchant account and payment gateway.

• Discount Rate: This is a significant amount of the sale taken by the merchant account takes from each sale. The amount charged according to different percentage according to the type of Internet sales the merchant underrates and the average sale amount.
• Up-front fees: The merchant account companies also charge all the services, which the merchant uses to process the charges manually. The fees can be variant between hundreds to thousands of dollars depending upon the company’s rate. The gateway companies also levy charges on the merchandiser.
• Merchant account monthly fees: The bank in which the merchant account is opened also charges the monthly fees of maintaining the account whether or not the account is actually used.
• Gateway fees: The companies providing the gateway services also charge monthly fees which are again different in different companies.
• Transaction fees: Usually the transaction costs are imposed on small businesses as per the number of transactions undertaken each month. (Web Transitions, Inc. , 2004) Conclusion: The implementation of the credit card system can lead to the tremendous growth in the business of a company, as it is the secure and economical online payment system. I order to maximize the benefits of the credit card system a plan should be well crafted including all the concerns i. e. security, economy and appropriateness with the business environment and stakeholders.

References

1. Credit Card Processing: Implementation Guide MAS 90 and MAS 200, available from http://www. blytheco. com/pdf/mas/mas_v3. 70/misc/CCProcessing_Impl_gde. pdf. Forbes. com Expand Your Business with Online Credit Card Processing, available from http://www. forbes. com/credit_card_processing. html Turban E. , Lee J. , King D. , & Chung Michael H. , (2000). Electronic
2. Commerce: A Managerial Perspective, International Edition, Prentice Hall International, Inc. Web Transitions, Inc. , (2004). E-commerce credit card processing, available from http://www. webtransitions. com/articles/e-commerce-credit-card-processing. asp

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9-509-027 REV: APRIL 22, 2011 JOHN A. QUELCH JACQUIE LABATT The American Express Card Marketing is fully integrated into our overall strategy. Our largest investor, Warren Buffett, is very focused on brand health and customer metrics. — Kenneth I. Chenault In April 2008, Jud Linville, president and chief executive officer of U. S. Consumer Services at American Express Company, was preparing for a meeting with Ken Chenault, American Express’s chairman and chief executive officer since 2001, and Al Kelly, president of American Express Company.

The purpose of the meeting was to discuss further growth prospects in the United States for the American Express consumer card business while maintaining the brand’s premium positioning. The performance of the American Express card, launched 50 years earlier in 1958, had been remarkable. By 2008, there were 52 million American Express cards in circulation in the U. S. , held by 41 million “cardmembers” (see Exhibit 1). American Express commanded nearly a 24% share of U. S. credit card payments. 1

As Linville prepared for the meeting, he wondered whether he could continue to rely on the same business growth drivers that had served American Express well in the past. With the U. S. economy slipping into recession, the proliferation of cards in the market required American Express to deepen its consumer understanding to provide innovative, value-added products that would attract and retain cardmembers. Company Background The American Express Company was a leading global payments and travel company with revenue net of interest expense of $27. 7 billion in 2007, up 10% from 2006. American Express’s principal products and services included charge and credit card payment products and travel-related services offered to consumers and businesses around the world. American Express was the world’s largest issuer of charge and credit cards as measured by the annual value of purchases charged on these cards. 3 Yet American Express maintained a “best-in-class” credit quality, reflecting in part the company’s traditional focus on the affluent segment, its expertise in evaluating the credit risk of individual consumers, and its ongoing commitment to investing in risk capabilities. In 2007, around 70% of American Express’s revenue net of interest expense and 85% of its pretax income from continuing operations5 was generated in the United States. The global diversity of the business included 86 million cards in force worldwide, more than 115 card-issuing or merchant-acquiring ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Professor John A. Quelch and Research Associate Jacquie Labatt prepared this case. HBS cases are developed solely as the basis for class discussion.

Cases are not intended to serve as endorsements, sources of primary data, or illustrations of effective or ineffective management. Copyright © 2008, 2011 President and Fellows of Harvard College. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call 1-800-5457685, write Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA 02163, or go to www. hbsp. harvard. edu/educators. This publication may not be digitized, photocopied, or otherwise reproduced, posted, or transmitted, without the permission of Harvard Business School..

This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012. For the exclusive use of Y. SUN 509-027 The American Express Card arrangements with banks and other institutions, and over 650 American Express network branded products. 6 Fortune magazine ranked American Express the “Most Admired” megabank/credit card company in its 2008 annual survey. 7 American Express’s roots date back to 1850, when Henry Wells, William Fargo, and John Butterfield founded an express delivery company.

The very nature of handling and transporting customers’ assets depended on security and trust, core attributes that had remained at the heart of the company and brand. In the late 1800s, American Express introduced financial products such as money orders and Travelers Cheques. The company later expanded into the travel business to further support its Travelers Cheques customers who were increasingly going abroad. The First Card The first American Express card targeting the business traveler was launched in 1958. The decision to enter this new business “faced strong opposition within the company with senior leaders evenly divided on the issue. 8 The debate began when the Diners Club card was introduced in 1950. American Express recognized the card as a potential threat to the company as consumers began using this card as a substitute for Travelers Cheques. 9 Some argued that a charge card would cannibalize the Travelers Cheque business, while others believed competing cards would hurt those sales regardless. There was further concern that launching a card would upset the American Automobile Association (AAA), one of American Express’s largest distributors of Travelers Cheques. At the same time, AAA was known to be considering launching a card of its own.

Finally, with the economy in recession, many executives argued that it was a risky time to be launching a charge card. Nevertheless, in December 1957, American Express president Ralph Reed decided to launch such a card without further delay, stating at the time: “All we have to sell is service. ” When word of the card’s imminent launch leaked, the company was inundated with calls from potential applicants. Further, the American Hotel Association approached American Express regarding forming an alliance, which gave the company an immediate customer base of 150,000 cardmembers and 4,500 participating merchants. 0 By the official launch date of October 1, 1958, American Express had already issued 250,000 cards at an annual fee of $6 each, $1 higher than the fee for a Diners Club card. The first American Express card11 was targeted at businessmen on expense accounts, offering them a convenient method of payment rather than a means of financing purchases. This American Express card was a charge card that required the user to pay off the balance monthly. It was not a credit card that offered the user the option of paying interest on the balance as if it were a cash loan.

The Gold (1966), Corporate (1966), and Platinum (1984) cards followed despite concerns over cannibalizing the original American Express card. This hierarchy of cards with progressively higher annual fees and services offered business travelers the aspirational prospect of being invited to move up from Green to Gold to Platinum. (In 1999, American Express added an unadvertised, byinvitation-only product, the black Centurion card. Equipped with VIP benefits such as a personal concierge, the Centurion card was offered by invitation only to a small, elite group of Platinum card customers.

Celebrities and the very rich clamored for the right to carry this new card. ) American Express launched its first credit card, Optima, in 1987. The Optima card was the first American Express card to allow customers to carry a balance and pay interest. It was marketed only as a “companion” card to existing American Express cardmembers. A downturn in the economy in 1991 resulted in unexpected losses as some Optima customers failed to make their payments.

As a result, American Express deferred plans to expand its credit card business and tightened its existing 2 This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012. For the exclusive use of Y. SUN The American Express Card 509-027 credit modeling programs and controls. In addition, American Express “card suppression,” whereby merchants tried to dissuade consumers from using their American Express card, began with the 1991 “Boston Fee Party. ” Boston estaurateurs were upset with what they viewed as American Express’s excessive discount rate, the percentage fee American Express charged merchants on consumer purchases made with American Express cards. This practice of not honoring the American Express card gained momentum and discouraged some consumers from using their American Express cards. Scale was viewed as a key competitive success factor in the payments industry; American Express considered its 16%—and falling—market share of the U. S. payments market in the early 1990s too low.

With too few cards in circulation and too few merchants accepting the American Express card, American Express management faced a “chicken and egg” dilemma in trying to determine which aspect of the problem to address first. Turnaround Harvey Golub’s appointment as chairman and chief executive officer in 1993 set the stage for restoring health to the American Express business and brand. Golub became the “vocal guardian” of the American Express brand as he outlined his vision for the company: “To become the world’s most respected service brand. 12 American Express’s purpose was to manage, market, and promote the core attributes of the American Express brand, “trust, security, integrity, quality and customer service,” through educating employees, incorporating these attributes into card products and services, and reflecting them in all marketing communications. Future chief executive officer Ken Chenault, who was then running the card business, laid down three guiding principles: to provide superior value to customers, to achieve best-in-class economics, and to direct all activities to support the American Express brand.

In addition, Golub established long-term goals as the guiding metrics for the business: earnings per share growth of 12%–15% per year, revenue growth of at least 8% per year, and return on equity of 18%–20% on average over time. With a business strategy built on the company’s brand, Golub refocused American Express on the card business. Starting in 1981, American Express had purchased brokerage and financial advisory firms in an effort to become a “financial supermarket. ” This strategy proved to be a distraction.

By 1993, Golub had divested American Express of most of its non-core businesses. Concurrently, the U. S. card business underwent a significant review under the leadership of Chenault. He identified three issues: Costs were too high compared to American Express’s most efficient competitors; the division was too slow to change and adapt, particularly in introducing new products; and the organization was not sufficiently flexible to meet the needs of specific, more targeted consumer segments. 13 By 1995, signs of a turnaround were evident in the American Express card business.

New card products began to appear with increased frequency, including proprietary and co-branded cards. A co-branding strategy was initially opposed by branding purists who argued that the American Express brand was too precious to be shared with a partner. This had led American Express to turn down an opportunity to co-brand air-miles-earning AAdvantage credit cards with American Airlines in the mid-1980s. The company came to regret this decision as American Airlines and, later, United Airlines both launched co-branded cards with Visa and MasterCard.

The launches of the co-branded Hilton Optima card (1995) and the Delta SkyMiles American Express card (1996) marked the company’s new willingness to partner with other strong brands. In future years, agreements were also struck with Costco, Starwood, and JetBlue. In 1996, Golub decided to open the American Express network and invited other banks and institutions to issue cards on its network. Doing business with other card issuers that were often competitors was a significant shift for the company. But, by carefully choosing the right partners who 3

This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012. For the exclusive use of Y. SUN 509-027 The American Express Card would tailor American Express products for their high-spending customers, the company could efficiently supplement its own efforts to grow the number of cards-in-force, cardmember spending, and merchant acceptance. The Global Network Services (GNS) division was formed in 1997 to build these relationships.

By 2007, there were more than 750 different American Express cards (including cards co-branded with merchants and banks) available around the world. Exhibit 2 lists the principal American Express card offerings and features in the United States as of 2008. In evaluating prospective product offerings, Linville asked whether the company was, first, “removing friction” from the system— making everyday life easier in some way for consumers such as with a “contactless” card—and, second, “providing special recognition,” or badge value, to cardmembers.

Linville sought to make the American Express brand available more broadly while ensuring that it retained its premium status. Organization As of 2007, the company was organized into two major customer groups: Global Consumer Services and Global Business-to-Business Services. The Global Consumer group contributed 67% of the company’s revenues net of interest expense and 52% of its income from continuing operations. 14 Its range of products and services included charge and credit card products for consumers and small businesses worldwide, consumer travel services, and prepaid, stored value products such as Travelers Cheques and Gift Cards.

Business-to-Business Services contributed 29% and 38%, respectively, to the company’s revenue and income, and offered business travel, corporate cards, expense management products and services, network services, and merchant acquisition and processing for the company’s network partners and proprietary payments businesses. (See Exhibit 3 for a breakdown of company revenues by operating group and division, and see Exhibit 4 for income statement data on the company’s U. S. card business. ) U. S. Payments Industry Payment Systems

American Express competed against all forms of payments for consumer purchases, a market that exceeded $7 trillion in the U. S. in 2008. 15 Payments could be divided into three broad categories: paper-based payments (checks, cash, money orders, official checks, Travelers Cheques); card-based payments (credit, debit, prepaid, electronic benefits transfer); and electronic-based payments (preauthorized and remote). Consumers were shifting from paper-based payments toward cards and electronic methods (see Table A).

Converting even a small portion of the paper market to American Express payments represented a big opportunity. Many of these transactions were cash/check-based because either they were low-value transactions (at mom-and-pop stores) or high-value captive transactions where there was little incentive for the merchant (for example, a utility company or apartment landlord) to accept charge/credit cards and absorb the discount fees charged for the service. American Express estimated that around 25% of the cash/check segment represented high-value transactions such as car purchases, tuition fees, and rent/mortgage payments. This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012. For the exclusive use of Y. SUN The American Express Card 509-027 Credit and Debit Credit cards held a leadership 26% share of the payments market and had grown 45% in dollar terms since the year 2001. Debit cards, which were issued by banks and allowed a purchase payment to be deducted immediately from the cardholder’s bank account, held a 14% share of the payments market and had grown 162% over this same period.

Since American Express was not a bank, it did not offer debit cards. The average purchase per debit card in the U. S. was $39 compared to $87 per credit card purchase. 16 While debit card transactions were projected to exceed credit card transactions by 2011, the average purchase per credit card transaction was expected to remain higher. 17 Table A U. S. Consumer Purchases by Payment Type—2006 Method of Payment Paper Checks Cash Other $3,365 1807 1439 119 Cards Credit Cards Debit Cards Other Source: % Change Versus Previous Five Years Market Share -4 % -19 +23 -3 47% 25 20 2 3,048 1,871 ,010 167 +77 +45 +162 +209 43 26 14 3 751 443 307 +177 +136 +270 10 6 4 7,165 Electronic Preauthorized Remote Total Consumer Purchases (billions) +30 100 Adapted from The Nilson Report, Issue 890, October 2007. The average American adult carried 4. 4 payment cards in his/her wallet, be they debit, credit, and/or charge cards. 18 Competitors in the card payments business were either card networks that processed transactions (Visa, MasterCard), card issuers (primarily banks), or organizations that both issued cards and processed transactions (American Express, Discover Financial Services).

Charge cards for specific retail chains were declining in importance. American Express aimed to increase its “share of wallet” by making American Express the payment card of choice for all transactions. This was especially important, as recent evidence showed the average number of cards per wallet falling rather than increasing; 20% of consumers shed payment products in 2007 versus 16% in 2004. 19 Further, only 31% of consumers were adding new payment products to their wallets, a drop from 56% three years earlier. 0 Many American consumers “compartmentalized” their spending, using different cards for different types of payments. For example, some long-standing American Express members still used the American Express card just for travel and entertainment, and used a Visa or MasterCard credit card for other purchases. 5 This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012. For the exclusive use of Y. SUN 509-027 The American Express Card Competitive Card Networks

Payment networks operated under two business models. “Open-loop” payment networks, as employed by Visa and MasterCard, were multiparty. Processing a payment typically involved connecting two financial institutions: one that issued the card (issuer) and one that serviced the merchant (acquirer). The open-loop network managed the information and transfer of value between the two banks. In a “closed-loop” network, as used by American Express and Discover, the network “owned” the relationship with both the cardholder and the merchant.

Leading payment networks are listed in Table B. Credit Card Networks—U. S. Market Share 2007 Table B Share of Credit Card Purchases Visa MasterCard American Express Discover Source: Share of Credit Card Transactions 42. 2% 28. 7 23. 8 5. 3 43. 8% 30. 5 18. 3 7. 4 Adapted from The Nilson Report, Issue 889, 2007. Visa, Inc. Visa operated the world’s largest retail electronics open-loop payment network. Visa provided financial institutions, their primary customers, with product platforms, including consumer credit, debit, prepaid, and commercial payments (see Table C).

Visa operated a data-processing network that transferred transaction data and managed payment flow between issuers and acquirers. Visa generated revenue primarily from financial institutions based on fees calculated on the dollar volume of payment activity on Visa-branded cards (service fees) and from fees charged for providing transaction processing (data-processing fees). In 2007, Visa USA generated 82% of its gross operating revenue from service and processing fees combined. 21 U. S. Results for Visa, Inc. , Annual Product Performance (June 30, 2007) Table C Payment Type

Consumer Credit Consumer Debit Commercial and Other Total Payments Volume Cash Volumea Total Volume Total Transactions (in millions) Source: Payment Volume (billions) Share of Payment Volume by Payment Type $ 624 637 188 34% 35 10 1,449 79 382 1,831 21 100% 25,942 Adapted from Visa, Inc. , Form 10-K, December 2007. a Cash volume includes cash access transactions, balance transfers, and convenience check transactions associated with Visa. 6 This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012.

For the exclusive use of Y. SUN The American Express Card 509-027 Visa went public on March 18, 2008, raising $19 billion in the world’s second-largest initial public offering (IPO). 22 The IPO created a cultural and business challenge: Visa had to shift its focus from delivering benefits to its partner banks toward maximizing profits for long-term shareholder value. 23 As stated in Visa’s 10-K report, “Many of our employees have limited experience operating in a profit-maximizing business environment. ”24 Further, the proceeds of the IPO bought out the interests of the partner banks.

As a result, the banks were no longer Visa’s partners and co-owners but were now Visa’s customers. MasterCard MasterCard (MC), which successfully went public in 2006, was a global payment solutions company that was similar to Visa’s open-loop network. MC’s primary sources of revenue were transaction service fees, data-processing fees, and assessments on gross dollar use (purchases, cash disbursements, balance transfers) of MC-based cards. In 2007, transaction fees and assessments represented approximately 74% and 26%, respectively, of the company’s net revenues. 5 Discover Financial Services Discover Financial Services (DFS) was the consumer credit and financial services division of Morgan Stanley until it was spun off to shareholders as an independent closed-loop payments network company in July 2007. Founded in 1986, DFS was the only issuer whose wholly-owned network operations included both debit and credit card capability. 26 DFS also offered a range of banking products, such as personal and student loans, certificates of deposit, and money market accounts. DFS’s primary source of revenue in its U. S. ard business was interest income earned on revolving cardmember balances. Other sources of revenue included late-payment, over-the-limit, and merchant discount fees. Like American Express, the company offered a rewards program to cardholders; under the Discover program, card users earned a cash-back discount on the value of their transactions. Competitive Card Issuers Competitive card issuers (largely banks) issued credit and debit cards, predominantly under the Visa and MasterCard brands, and were responsible for the pricing, positioning, and marketing of their co-branded cards.

The top three banks accounted for more than 60% of outstanding bank-issued credit card purchases, as indicated in Table D. Card issuers competed on the basis of card features and quality of service, including rewards, number of cards issued and quality of users’ credit and spending, number of establishments accepting the card, success of target marketing and promotional campaigns, and the ability of the issuer to manage credit and interest rate risks through economic cycles. The primary revenue source for bank issuers was interest income earned on outstanding credit card balances.

They acquired new cardholders by cross-selling cards to the customers of their retail branch networks and, increasingly, targeted high-spending consumers, offering premium cards with enhanced services such as larger lines of credit, cash rebates, lower interest rates, and co-brand benefits with airline frequent-flyer programs. 7 This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012. For the exclusive use of Y. SUN 509-027 The American Express Card Table D U. S. Credit Card Volumes by Card Issuer in 2007 Volume of Purchases billions) American Expressa JP Morgan Chase Bank of America Citigroup Capital One Discovera U. S. Bank HSBC Wells Fargo GE Money Other Sources: $459 317 263 222 106 90 65 41 37 27 87 Adapted from The Nilson Report, Issue 896, February 2008, except for American Express (American Express Annual Report 2007). a Do not include third-party business. Emerging Payment Networks New entrants offering nontraditional, convenient, technology-based payment methods were growing in number and importance. It was estimated that credit and debit cards generated approximately $200 billion in purchase volume from online bill payments in 2006. 7 New payment methods included online “aggregator” networks, such as PayPal and Google Checkout, and telecom providers that leveraged new technologies and customers’ existing charge and credit card relationships to create mobile payment solutions where the plastic card would not need to be presented to the merchant. PayPal used encryption software to allow consumers to make financial transfers between computers. 28 Similarly, Google Checkout, which accepted and processed existing payment methods such as American Express, Visa, and MasterCard, aimed to offer buyers a fast, safe, and convenient purchase experience.

American Express Card Business Model The American Express “spend-centric” business model (see Exhibit 4) depended on increased cardmember spending. American Express’s primary source of income was “discount revenue,” revenue earned from fees charged to merchants for processing purchases made using an American Express card. The fee charged represented a percentage of the dollar value of these transactions. In 2007, discount revenue and card fees accounted for more than 70% of U. S. Card Services’ revenue net of interest expense (see Exhibit 5).

The average American Express cardmember charged more each year than the average Visa or MasterCard credit card user. In 2007, the annual average purchase volume per American Express card of $8,360 in the U. S. was substantially higher than that for Visa ($2,470/card) or MasterCard ($1,960/card). 29 By accepting American Express cards, merchants benefited from attracting as patrons the higher-spending American Express consumer. As a result, American Express could justify a premium discount rate from merchants over its competitors.

American Express invested this price premium in information systems that studied the purchase habits and inclinations of cardmembers. These insights led to the development of targeted 8 This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012. For the exclusive use of Y. SUN The American Express Card 509-027 promotions, connecting merchants with interested American Express cardmembers who were in turn motivated to spend even more on their American Express cards.

In this way, the spend-centric model became a virtuous cycle, benefiting cardmember, merchant, and company alike. From the outset, American Express targeted the affluent, high-spending consumer. “High-wallet” consumers were defined by American Express in 2007 as those who spent more than $30,000 annually using cards. Affluent consumers represented roughly 10% of card users but accounted for half of U. S. charge/credit card consumer spending. 30 American Express’s target consumer typically liked to travel, liked to be different, and liked special access to exclusive experiences.

For many years the American Express consumer skewed slightly toward affluent, older men, a reflection of the company’s early targeting of the male business traveler. The company had successfully increased American Express brand penetration of affluent younger and female consumers. Unlike its transaction-oriented competitors, Visa and MasterCard, the American Express card always emphasized an aspirational lifestyle. An early example was the 1985 launch of Departures magazine for Platinum cardmembers who were active, affluent consumers.

The Departures editor defined luxury not as status and privilege but in terms of quality and authenticity. Membership in a Lifestyle From the outset, American Express executives emphasized that the company sold not just a card but a relationship. The relationship involved a “membership” in which the company committed to providing the member with the following: Access (premium and exclusive access and enhanced experiences for cardmembers), Advocacy (in merchant disputes, for example), Accountability (privacy of information, fairness in billing), and Affiliation (a sense of belonging to a community).

Every American Express charge card included the “Member Since” designation on the front followed by the year the consumer became an American Express cardmember. To underscore the membership status of American Express consumers, the company in 1991 launched the Membership Miles program to motivate customer sign-ups, customer retention, and more frequent card usage. At launch, the Membership Miles program gave cardmembers one point for every dollar charged on the card and the ability to redeem points with seven airlines. The program was renamed Membership Rewards (MR) in 1995.

Spending on American Express cards linked to MR averaged four times higher than that on cards without rewards activity. 31 Seventy percent of cardmembers used the MR program. Cardmembers enrolled in the program were found to be lower credit risks as well as more profitable. 32 The company’s “data-mining” capabilities helped shape the MR program into an industry-leading loyalty program. For these reasons, American Express’s marketing spending on MR had grown at a compound annual growth rate of 24% since 2001, compared to an average 12% increase in marketing and promotion spending. 33 The MR program in the U.

S. had more than 160 redemption partners34 and featured 29 airlines among its 250 merchandise brands. Analytics not only helped to determine whom to reach and with what offer, but also how rewards influenced loyalty. In 2005, the MR analytics team analyzed which members were more likely to redeem, in which categories, how many points they would redeem, and at what cost to the company. This research enabled American Express to craft a more appealing mix of reward offers, to predict more accurately the volume of demand for particular offers, and to negotiate better deals with suppliers.

Innovations such as “First Collection,” a luxury tier exclusively for U. S. Platinum and Centurion cardmembers that included redemption partners such as Tiffany and Lamborghini, and “Bonus Points Mall,” an online gateway to more than 100 retailers, were 9 This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012. For the exclusive use of Y. SUN 509-027 The American Express Card examples of how American Express increasingly tried to match the nature and the level of rewards to what its members sought and expected.

Data-Based Marketing As a card issuer and network provider, American Express had direct relationships with both its cardmembers and its merchants. “Data-based marketing” became a competitive advantage at American Express. Analyses of cardmember purchases enabled American Express to develop offers that boosted spending with particular groups of merchants. Open-loop competitors Visa and MasterCard could not match American Express’s data-driven capabilities because they controlled access to either the cardholder or the merchant data, not both.

The purpose of data-based marketing was to develop insights and offers that would match members’ interests, drive charge volume, and increase loyalty to American Express. 35 The company did not use individual consumer data for marketing purposes but rather clustered cardholders into segments based on personal, financial, and lifestyle characteristics evident in the patterns of their transactions. Cardmember clusters might have greater than average spending in, for example, entertainment, dining, home, fashion, electronics, or automobiles.

Cardmembers whose spending showed them to be more “passionate” about their homes might then receive offers from local homeimprovement retailers. The company also researched correlations across spending categories to identify potential partnerships. For example, research indicated that affluent consumers who owned at least one luxury automobile brand had a strong affinity not only to other luxury brands but also to consumer electronics brands, an above-average tendency to engage in skiing and antiquing, and a strong likelihood of owning a second, more practical vehicle.

Data mining also enabled American Express executives to predict how spending behavior evolved through various “life stages” and increasing levels of affluence. For example, the company’s predictive model indicated that non-affluent cardmembers who made a single luxury purchase, such as a first-class airline ticket, were three times as likely to become affluent. Card upgrade offers distributed following a cardmember’s first luxury charge purchase resulted in response rates over 50% above normal. 36 Emerging Challenges

By 2005, competitors had begun to imitate American Express’s lifestyle platform with premium product offerings (e. g. , Visa Signature, MasterCard World Elite), exclusive experiential rewards (e. g. , MasterCard’s Unique Experiences program), and lifestyle advertising. Visa’s “Life Takes Visa” advertising campaign emphasized the “brand’s promise to deliver innovative products and services that empower cardholders to experience life and business their way and on their terms. ”37 The quality of a card’s rewards program was increasingly important to higher-spending consumers.

No longer did they evaluate rewards programs just on ease of earning and redeeming points. The variety and frequency of unique rewards (such as backstage access at a concert) were more and more critical. American Express had an edge over Visa and MasterCard owing to its cumulative expertise in arranging special events, but bidding wars for such opportunities were increasingly common. While continuing to emphasize relationship and lifestyle over transaction, American Express had to broaden its merchant network to maintain its share of consumer spending.

In 1990, 64% of 10 This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012. For the exclusive use of Y. SUN The American Express Card 509-027 American Express U. S. billings came from the travel and entertainment (T&E) sectors and 36% came from retail and other sectors. 38 This reflected the company’s belief that spending could be segmented into “business” and “personal. ” American Express’s focus on T&E concerned Chenault and Kelly.

They believed that, in the interests of scale, American Express had to expand its presence in the “everyday” retail market. This change in strategy was opposed initially, partly because it would necessitate launching more new products and, in the eyes of some traditionalists, weaken the brand. However, by 2007 the sources of cardmember spending had more than reversed, with everyday retail spending representing more than 69% of U. S. American Express card billings. 39 Marketing Communications Advertising Campaigns

American Express had a long history of successful, distinctive advertising that consistently stressed prestige, inviting consumers to join an exclusive club of cardmembers. One of the first TV campaigns, “For People Who Travel” (1969–1974), demonstrated how the American Express card is “All You Need” for your travel and entertainment needs. This was replaced by the “Do You Know Me? ” campaign, which that ran for more than a decade, produced 125 commercials, and marked the beginning of the company’s strategy of using famous American Express “members” to sell cards to consumers. Do You Know Me? ” used a variety of celebrities to highlight the special treatment and recognition cardmembers enjoy, the premise being that people with famous names don’t always have equally famous faces; anyone who carried an American Express card would be immediately identified as someone of note. In 1987, American Express premiered the “Membership Has Its Privileges” campaign, which highlighted the company’s superior service and showed how the card “not only facilitated the variety and enjoyment of a cardmember’s lifestyle, but that membership is also invaluable when emergencies arise. 40 To complement this television campaign, the “Portraits” print campaign was launched. Portraits underscored the message that “superior customer service, security, and convenience” were important American Express qualities that cardmembers relied on. Shot by celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz, “Portraits” focused on a unique group of high-profile cardmembers. The company’s first global advertising campaign, “Do More,” was launched in 1996 and emphasized brand attributes such as trust, customer focus, travel relevance, and financial insight.

A variety of “product” commercials highlighted individual card benefits such as no preset spending, purchase protection, and global assist, while talent-driven “stories,” such as Tiger Woods’s “Manhattan” commercial in which he plays the world’s toughest “island” course—Manhattan—were intended to drive emotional relevance. In an effort to encourage everyday usage of the card, the “Do More” campaign introduced a series of ads showing comedian Jerry Seinfeld using the American Express Card in supermarkets and drugstores. In 2004, a new global campaign with the tagline “My Life. My Card. featured snapshots of the lives of celebrities, including Robert DeNiro, Tiger Woods, and Ellen DeGeneres. The campaign portrayed American Express cardmembers as exceptional people no matter where they lived or what they did. The campaign was also the first to support both American Express’s proprietary and network businesses. John Hayes, American Express’s chief marketing officer, believed that the company’s history of tastefully portraying the rich and famous had provided it with an edge in attracting A-list talent. DeGeneres purportedly pointed to Seinfeld’s ads before signing on to do her own. 1 11 This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012. For the exclusive use of Y. SUN 509-027 The American Express Card American Express launched its most recent campaign, “Are You A Cardmember? ,” in 2007. Hayes explained: “The new campaign continues the tradition of defining the value of belonging to the American Express community by showcasing some of our most exceptional cardmembers and the ways in which membership works for them.

But our latest campaign not only reaffirms for existing members why they belong, it also calls on nonmembers to consider becoming a cardmember. ”42 See Exhibit 6 for a summary of American Express’s U. S. card advertising campaigns. Expenditures The company’s mix of marketing spending had changed to reflect the growing importance of targeted communication over mass mailings and the emergence of the digital world. Over time, spending on direct mail, while still large, had decreased along with spending on television advertising.

Event/experiential marketing and Internet spending had both grown. American Express used direct marketing both to acquire new customers and to motivate existing members to upgrade. Traditionally, American Express sought new customer applications from outbound telemarketing, “Take Ones” (applications placed in restaurants and other retail establishments), and direct-mail efforts. By 2008, only 40% of successful new applicants still came from direct-mail solicitations and response rates had slipped well below 1%.

By contrast, a significant portion of applications came from new channels such as the Internet, co-branded partner channels, and consumer-initiated phone calls to American Express customer service. The American Express website had become one of the company’s largest sources of new member applications. It allowed the company to leverage its datamining expertise to provide real-time consumer rewards and offers. The Web simplified the card selection/application process by guiding the applicant through card choices.

Based on the applicant’s stated card feature priorities (fees, rewards, payment terms), the American Express website provided card product comparisons and recommended the most appropriate card options from American Express’s portfolio. The growing importance of the digital world was reflected in the company’s shift in media spending, as shown in Table E. American Express Company—U. S. Card Media Spending Table E Share of Media Spend 2003 Media Type Online Share of Media Spend 2007 7% Television 19% 48 57 14 10 Print 23 13 Radio 2 Non Traditional Source: Mediaa Company records. a Non Traditional Media includes billboards, transit, cinema, and other out-of-home media Investing in the website reduced American Express’s costs and built brand presence and prestige. By 2008, 38% of American Express applications, payments, and reward redemptions had migrated to the Web at cost rates 53%, 84%, and 86% lower, respectively, than offline. 43 The Internet allowed the company to attract new customers faster (one application every eight seconds) and more 12

This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012. For the exclusive use of Y. SUN The American Express Card 509-027 economically. The website, serving as a virtual service center around the clock, increased the frequency with which the company was in contact with its customers, making it a powerful marketing channel. Claiming the americanexpress. com site “gets more traffic than the Wall Street Journal online,” the company noted that its members used the Web primarily for checking statements and cashing in rewards.

With more than 50% of American Express payments left to migrate online, upside opportunity existed for further cost savings and deeper relationships with customers. Bank and Merchant Partners As of 2008, American Express obtained customers in two ways: through direct company solicitations and communications that resulted in consumers being issued proprietary American Express cards; and through third-party financial institutions that solicited their customers to sign up for American Express cards through them, a business managed by the company’s Global Network Services (GNS) division.

Bank Partners American Express’s GNS business was set up in 1997 to build partnerships with banks and other institutions to issue American Express–branded products. GNS products were designed to help issuers develop products for their highest-spending, most affluent customers and to support the value of American Express card acceptance with merchants. GNS enabled American Express to broaden its cardmember base internationally at relatively low cost. By 2008, GNS had over 120 partners in more than 125 markets and accounted for nearly 25% of American Express’s overall cardsin-force.

American Express particularly wanted to help each bank design card products for their highspending, affluent private banking clientele, and to benefit from new distribution channels that included each bank’s website, direct-mail capabilities, and retail branch network. For their part, the banks were interested in partnering with American Express because of its superior marketing expertise as a card issuer and the higher-spending profile of American Express cardmembers. Merchants stood to benefit from more American Express cards in circulation.

For American Express, expanding the GNS business required little capital; the banks owned the receivables and therefore absorbed the consumer credit risk. While consumers could choose between American Express proprietary cards and those issued under GNS partnerships, cannibalization of direct sales appeared to be minimal. While GNS began building a healthy international business, it was effectively barred from doing business in the U. S. by Visa and MasterCard’s policies preventing their U. S. member banks from issuing other card brands. In 1998, the U.

S. Department of Justice filed suit against Visa, MasterCard, and eight of their member banks, charging anticompetitive practices. The suit charged that Visa and MasterCard prohibited their U. S. partner banks from issuing American Express–branded cards on the American Express network. Discover cards were affected similarly. The legal battle was resolved in 2004 when the U. S. Supreme Court let stand a court ruling that Visa and MasterCard had violated antitrust laws. Visa settled for $2. 25 billion. MasterCard later settled for $1. 5 billion.

American Express soon signed Network Card License Arrangements (NCLs) to issue American Express–branded cards with seven leading U. S. banks. MBNA was the first, followed by Citibank, Barclaycard U. S. , USAA, GE Money, HSBC, and Bank of America. Though the banks were licensed to issue American Express–branded cards, American Express owned the relationships with merchants. 13 This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012. For the exclusive use of Y.

SUN 509-027 The American Express Card This meant that GNS earned discount revenue from both the bank issuer and the merchant acquirer, a sum that represented roughly one-third of total GNS revenues. This design feature underscored the importance of the continued focus on the high-spend segment. American Express developed strong account-management teams to manage the relationships with these major banks. Two major banks that had not yet signed on to issue American Express cards were JP Morgan Chase and Capital One. Merchant Partners In addition to U. S. anks, American Express depended on relationships with merchant partners, seeking always to expand its merchant coverage. These relationships were managed by the Merchant Services Group. Despite American Express’s premium discount rate, American Express believed that merchant coverage was not a function of price alone; if it were, Kmart and Walmart, for example, would not have chosen to accept American Express. Further, the Discover card discount rate was less than American Express’s yet Discover had a much lower merchant penetration. (See Table F for fees paid in 2005 by U. S. erchants to accept card payments. ) American Express account managers and third-party sales organizations aimed to convince merchants of two benefits to offset American Express’s higher discount rate: that American Express cardmembers would spend more with them than with competitive cardholders and that American Express data mining could target promotional offers that would drive business their way. To persuade reluctant merchants to sign up, the Merchant Services Group might target members who were likely shoppers at a new merchant with double points promotions for an inaugural period.

Since 2000, American Express increased merchant acceptance of its cards in many categories, especially quick-serve restaurants, mass transit, and health care. American Express card acceptance also increased in industries where cash, checks, or bank transfers were the predominant forms of payment, including apartment rentals, private jet travel, and destination clubs. By 2008, the American Express card was accepted at millions of merchants in the U. S.. Management estimated that U. S. ocations where the American Express card was accepted covered more than 90% of American Express cardmembers’ general-purpose charge and credit card spending. 44 Table F Fees Paid by U. S. Merchants to Accept Card Payments—2005 Payment Card Brand Visa/MasterCard Credit Cards Visa/MasterCard Debit Cards American Express Discover Source: Fees Paid (billions) Weighted Averagea $25. 13 9. 76 8. 51 1. 46 2. 19% 1. 75 2. 41 1. 76 Adapted from The Nilson Report, Number 862, August 2006. a Fees vary according to merchant category, volume, and type of card. Conclusion

By the spring of 2008, American Express was strategically focused on the payments and travel businesses, having sold off the last of its banking interests. Michael O’Neill, senior vice president of corporate affairs and communications, explained this transformation: “We narrowed the business and broadened the brand. ” Warren Buffett, who was the company’s largest shareholder, described 14 This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012. For the exclusive use of Y. SUN The American Express Card 509-027

American Express’s “powerful world-wide brand” as “an enduring moat that protects excellent returns on invested capital”45 and Chenault as one of the “giant-company managers whom I greatly admire. ”46 In March 2008, Barron’s named Chenault as one of “The World’s Best CEOs” for having “positioned American Express well to withstand turbulence. He hasn’t compromised credit standards to gain new cardholders, nor has he cut back on marketing spending to prop up earnings. His loss rates on cards remain among the industry’s best. ”47 In the second half of 2007, a U. S. housing downturn and credit crunch slowed U. S. economic growth.

American Express issued a profit warning in early 2008. Chenault explained that the slowdown in cardmember spending that had come on suddenly in December 2007 was broad-based and was expected to continue into 2008. “Now we’ve been through slowing economies before, but none of us can recall such a dramatic drop over such a short time frame, except for the event-driven decline of 9/11. ”48 Past-due loans and write-offs also rose, especially in parts of the U. S. that had experienced a housing price bubble. However, superior risk management and credit controls at American Express meant that it was less affected than competitors. 9 It was in this context that Jud Linville prepared for his meeting with Ken Chenault and Al Kelly. How could the American Express consumer card business continue its growth while maintaining the company’s premium positioning? Were there opportunities for his organization to serve U. S. consumers and merchants in new ways while continuing to turn in the profits that shareholders had come to expect? 15 This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012. For the exclusive use of Y. SUN 509-027 The American Express Card

Exhibit 1 American Express Card Business Statistics: 2006–2007 Years Ended December 31 (billions, except percentages and where indicated) 2007 2006 Card billed businessa United States Outside the United States $459. 3 188. 0 $406. 8 154. 7 $647. 3 $561. 5 52. 3 34. 1 48. 1 29. 9 86. 4 78. 0 40. 9 29. 2 37. 1 25. 4 70. 1 62. 5 Total b Total cards-in-force (millions) United States Outside the United States Total Basic cards-in-force (millions) b United States Outside the United States Total Average discount ratec Average basic cardmember spending (dollars)d Average fee per card (dollars) d Source: 2. 56% $12,106 32 2. 57% $11,201 $32 Company documents. a Card billed business includes activities (including cash advances) related to proprietary cards, cards issued under network partnership agreements, and certain insurance fees charged on proprietary cards. Card billed business is reflected in the United States or outside the United States based on where the cardmember is domiciled. b The number of cards that are issued and outstanding. Proprietary basic consumer cards-in-force includes basic cards issued to the primary account owner (“cardmember”) and does not include additional supplemental cards issued on that account.

Proprietary basic small business and corporate cards-in-force include basic and supplemental cards issued to employee cardmembers. Non-proprietary basic cards-inforce includes all cards that are issued and outstanding under network partnership agreements. c Designed to approximate merchant pricing, the percentage of billed business (both proprietary and Global Network Services) retained by the Company from merchants it acquires, prior to payments to third parties unrelated to merchant acceptance. d Average basic cardmember spending and average fee per card are computed from proprietary card ctivities only. 16 This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012. For the exclusive use of Y. SUN The American Express Card Exhibit 2 509-027 Selected American Express U. S. Charge and Credit Card Products: 2008 CARD TYPE SELECTED FEATURES AND BENEFITS CHARGE CARDS Green (1958) Gold(1966) —Preferred Rewards Gold (2002) —Rewards Plus Gold (1994) Platinum (1984) Centurion (1999) One from American Express (2005) 1% of purchases deposited to high yield savings account CREDIT CARDS

Blue (1999) —Blue (1999) —Blue Cash (2003) —Blue Sky (2005) —Blue for Students (2001) Optima (1987) —Optima Platinum (1997) City Rewards —In New York City (2004) —In Los Angeles (2005) —In Chicago (2005) Clear (2005) No annual fee, flexibility to pay over time, free additional cards No annual fee, earn up to 5% cash back, unlimited cash rewards No annual fee, earn points redeemable on airline, hotel or cruise services. No annual fee, flexibility to pay over time, Membership Rewards No annual fee, transfer balances for free, Membership Rewards No annual fee, earn Inside points to at, drink and play in New York No annual fee, earn Inside points to eat, drink and play in L. A. No annual fee, earn Inside points to eat, drink and play in Chicago. No fees of any kind, automatic rewards, flexibility to pay over time PARTNER CARDS Airlines —Gold Delta Sky Miles (1996) —Platinum Delta Sky Miles (2002) —JetBlue Card (2005) Hotels —Starwood Preferred (2001) —Hilton HHonors (1995) Costco—True Earnings Card (2004) Lifestyle Cards —The Knot (2005) —The Nest (2005) Earn Sky Miles on every dollar spent, earn double miles on some purchases Earn Sky Miles, earn 1 companion ticket each year

Earn points towards JetBlue flights Earn points towards free hotel stays, upgrades, even flights Earn HHonors points on every purchase Earn cash back on purchases Membership Rewards, no annual fee, get special offers from The Knot Membership Rewards, no annual fee, get special offers from The Nest FOR CORPORATE CLIENTS American Express Corporate Cards (1966) Business ExtrAA Corporate Card (2003) Comprehensive reporting to track spending and increase compliance Savings through airfare rebates, free travel awards FOR SMALL BUSINESS Business Gold Rewards (2005) Business Platinum Card (1995) Plum (2006)

Starwood Preferred Guest Business Credit Card (2001) Business Cash Rebate Credit Card (2003) Source: Membership Rewards, no limit, year-end summary Membership Rewards, access to special events Membership Rewards, access to special events, 5 free additional cards Airport Club access, 24 hour concierge service, by Invitation Only events Save 3-25% on business expenses at selected partners (e. g. : FedEx, Delta) Access to airport lounges, professional office space, personal concierge Trade terms, pay within 10 days, get 2% off or defer payment Free awards nights at Starwood Hotels, awards flights on over 30 airlines Earn 2. % on all purchases and up to 5% for certain business purchases. Company documents. 17 This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012. For the exclusive use of Y. SUN 509-027 The American Express Card Exhibit 3 Source: American Express Company Overview: 2007 Company records. 18 This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012. For the exclusive use of Y. SUN The American Express Card Exhibit 4 509-027

American Express: Spend-Centric Model The American Express spend-centric business model focused primarily on generating revenues by driving spending on its cards, and secondarily finance charges and fees, allowing the company to grow market share in the payments industry. Source: Company documents. 19 This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012. For the exclusive use of Y. SUN 509-027 The American Express Card Exhibit 5 American Express U. S. Card Services—Selected Income Statement Data Year Ended December 31 (millions)

Revenues Discount revenue, net card fees and othera Cardmember lending revenueb Securitization income Excess spread, net Servicing fees Gains on sales from securitizations Securitization income, net:c 2007 2006 $10,435 4,762 $9,421 3,434 1,025 425 57 1,055 407 27 $ 1,507 $ 1,489 Total revenues Interest expense Cardmember lending Charge card and other $16,704 $14,344 1,518 964 957 767 Revenue, Net of Interest Expense $14,222 $12,620 Expenses Marketing, promotion, rewards and cardmember services Human resources and other operating expenses Total Provisions for lossesd Pretax segment income Income provision 5,140 3,354 $ 8,494 $ 2,998 $ 2,730 $ 907 $ 4,445 3,227 $ 7,672 $ 1,625 3,323 $ 1,171 Segment Income $ 1,823 $ 2,152 Source: American Express Company Annual Report 2007, p. 53. a Discount Revenue represents revenue earned from fees charged to merchants with whom the company has entered into a card acceptance agreement for processing cardmember transactions. b Cardmember Lending Revenue represents the outstanding amount due from cardmembers for charges made on their American Express credit cards, any interest charges and card-related fees and balances with extended payment terms on certain charge products. Securitization Income, Net includes non-credit provision components of the net gains from securitization activities; excess spread related to securitized cardmember loans; and servicing income net of related discounts or fees. d Provisions for Losses include credit-related expenses. 20 This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012. For the exclusive use of Y. SUN The American Express Card Exhibit 6 509-027 Major American Express Advertising Campaigns in the United States 1958–early 1960s Good As Gold.

The World Around! Establish prestige image for AmEx card and provide application instructions. 1969–1974 For People Who Travel Show how the American Express card is “all you need” for your travel and entertainment needs. 1975–1987 Do You Know Me? Show celebrities receiving the special treatment and recognition cardmembers enjoy around the world. Tagline, which continued through 1995, is “Don’t Leave Home Without It. ” 1987–1992 Membership Has Its Privileges Introduce notion of “membership” and showcase the benefits of respect, recognition, unsurpassed service as well as Global Assist, Buyers Assurance. 996–2000 Do More/Seinfeld Highlight individual card product benefits such as no pre-set spending, purchase protection, global assist. Talent-driven “stories” drive emotional relevance and recognition benefit. Use Jerry Seinfeld in a larger than life manner to increase awareness and use of the American Express card at everyday spend locations. Sub-campaign uses everyday moments to highlight individual product benefits such as retail protection and roadside assistance. Make Life Rewarding 2002 Relaunch American Express brand post 9/11 using charge card as the face of propriety.

Sub-campaign introduced “revitalized” charge card with membership reward programs built in. 2004–2007 My Life. My Card. Demonstrate the company’s belief that American Express cardmembers are exceptional people no matter where they live or what they do. Featured extraordinary individuals including Robert DeNiro, Tiger Woods, Ellen DeGeneres, and Laird Hamilton, revealing snapshots of their lives. Acclaimed director Martin Scorsese and celebrated photographer Annie Leibovitz were commissioned to lend their vision to elements of the campaign creative.

While the creative direction varied from ad to ad, the campaign theme was consistent: achievers of all types choose American Express. 2007–2008 Are You A Cardmember? Entice prospective cardmembers to apply and join the American Express community and reinforce the membership benefits to current cardmembers via showcasing the advantages American Express offers versus competition. Celebrities such as Beyonce Knowles, Ellen DeGeneres, Tina Fey, and Diane Von Furstenberg are featured within a lifestyle and access theme. Source: Company documents. 21

This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012. For the exclusive use of Y. SUN 509-027 The American Express Card Endnotes 1 Adapted from The Nilson Report, Issue 902, 2008. 2 American Express Annual Report, 2007, inside front cover. 3American Express Fixed Income Presentation, March 12, 2008, http://media. corporate-ir. net/media_files/ irol/64/64467/DebtInvestorPres. pdf, accessed June 12, 2008. 4 American Express Financial Community Meeting 2/16/2008 K.

Chenault speech, texthttp://media. corporateir. net/media_files/irol/64/64467/KCSTalkingPoints020608. pdf, accessed June 12, 2008. 5 American Express Annual Report, p. 110. 6 American Express Fixed Income Presentation, March 12, 2008, ir. net/media_files/irol/64/64467/DebtInvestorPres. pdf, accessed June 12, 2008. 7 American Express Fixed Income Presentation, March 12, 2008, ir. net/media_files/irol/64/64467/DebtInvestorPres. pdf, accessed June 12, 2008. http://media. corporatehttp://media. corporate- 8 Americ

How much do How much do credit card companies know about you? 1. What competitive strategy are the credit card companies pursuing? How do information systems support that strategy? Credit card company keep tracks of their cardholder‘s credit usage and classified them into different category. This allows credit card companies to learn a great deal about each of its customers at a glance. Overall, the credit card company uses various methods to understand all of the cardholder’s spending habits.

Information systems enable credit card companies to collect the data and analysis it easily. 2. What are the business benefits of analyzing customer purchase data and constructing behavioral profiles? Analysis of the information in the credit usage record enables credit card companies to evaluate the purchasing power of different customers. Credit card companies can use the important information to control the credit card user credit usage and therefore lower the company loss 3.

Are these practices by credit card companies ethical? Are they an invasion of privacy? It is not ethical. The privacy of the cardholder is directly violated if the credit card usage is being tracked. The cardholder’s credit record could be abuse and used to harm the cardholder. companies know about you? 1. What competitive strategy are the credit card companies pursuing? How do information systems support that strategy? Credit card company keep tracks of their cardholder‘s credit usage and classified them into different category.

This allows credit card companies to learn a great deal about each of its customers at a glance. Overall, the credit card company uses various methods to understand all of the cardholder’s spending habits. Information systems enable credit card companies to collect the data and analysis it easily. 2. What are the business benefits of analyzing customer purchase data and constructing behavioral profiles? Analysis of the information in the credit sage record enables credit card companies to evaluate the purchasing power of different customers. Credit card companies can use the important information to control the credit card user credit usage and therefore lower the company loss 3. Are these practices by credit card companies ethical? Are they an invasion of privacy? It is not ethical. The privacy of the cardholder is directly violated if the credit card usage is being tracked. The cardholder’s credit record could be abuse and used to harm the cardholder.

I researched the entrepreneurial story of giftzip. com. This is about Giftzip. com by Sam Hogg who is the founder. He took MBA course from Michigan State University. When he took the courses he and friend thought about waste and discarded plastic gift card and he decided to make it online. After he gets MBA degree he established Giftzip. com and he makes large choice to buy gift card from $25~$250 on the net. Also recipient gets gift card by redeem code or e-mail from the company that they look at it.

Sam Hogg has difficulty with big retailer such as amazon. com he almost gave up when he failed to make a deal with them. However he waited the time comes and luckily his business turned succeed. In fall 2008 gift market grows, people are more prefer to buy gift card on the internet and feel comfortable. It turns Giftzip as successful company and in 2009 Giftzip designated as 10 hot startups to watch. And Gift card industry expected to top $100 billion.

Reread the opening case, and then list all the smart or effective moves Sam Hogg made in the early days of building GiftZip. com. Which three moves were most instrumental in GiftZip. com’s early success? Be prepared to justify your selections. 1. He did what others didn’t do before. – (Challenging) 2. He continues to control his company whether it will be succeed or be fail. And he got luck to succeed it. 3. As Sam’s entrepreneurship he believes that his idea/work will be succeed.