Amex to Reach Cardholders through Facebook Messenger
A new partnership with Facebook will enable American Express to interact with cardholders via Facebook Messenger. Unveiled at the Cannes-Lions International Festival of Creativity in Cannes, France, the initiative features an American Express messenger “bot” that sends cardholders real-time purchase notifications and information about card benefits and services related to those purchases. For example, a Platinum American Express cardholder who buys an airline ticket from Las Vegas to New York City would receive a purchase notification in Messenger and subsequently would get a reminder about how to access The Centurion Lounge at the airport, as well as restaurant recommendations for the upcoming trip. American Express expects to launch a pilot of the program in the coming months for eligible U.S. consumer and OPEN small business card members who opt-in to participate.
“We know our card members appreciate the convenience of receiving information from Amex on digital platforms where they’re already spending time,” said Dave Wolf, vice president, digital partnerships and development, American Express. “The scale and flexibility of the Messenger platform makes it a powerful channel for us to explore new ways to connect with card members,” he added.
Smartphone ubiquity has made mobile messaging an effective way for financial services providers to reach consumers. A recent survey from Bank of America found that 71 percent of respondents had taken action as a result of a mobile alert.
American Express and Facebook have partnered on several initiatives in the past, including the 2012 launch of a Facebook app enabling users of the social network to make P2P payments using American Express’ Serve payments platform. However, Amex confirms that Serve and Bluebird cardholders aren’t included in the latest pilot with Facebook.
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