Business

American Express probed over sales practices

Company misrepresented rewards, issued unrequested cards to boost sales figures, says WSJ report

Updated 5 years ago · Published on 16 Feb 2021 10:45PM

American Express probed over sales practices
American Express says it is cooperating with a grand jury subpoena from the US Attorney's Office in New York over its sales practices for small business cards. – Pixabay pic, February 16, 2021

NEW YORK – American Express disclosed a pair of federal probes over its sales practices, according to a securities filing on Friday.

AmEx said it was cooperating with a January 2021 grand jury subpoena from the US Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of New York over its sales practices for small business cards.

That disclosure followed reports the company had used questionable tactics to sign up small businesses.

The credit card company also has received a civil investigative demand from the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over its sales practices to consumers, AmEx said in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

“We are cooperating with all of these inquiries and have continued to enhance our controls related to our sales practices, “ AmEx said in the filing.

“We do not believe this matter will have a material adverse impact on our business or results of operations.”

The Wall Street Journal reported last month that AmEx faced scrutiny from a number of federal agencies over whether it used strongarm and misleading tactics to sign up small businesses.

An earlier report in the Journal recounted instances where AmEx salespeople had misrepresented card rewards or issued unrequested cards to boost sales figures. – AFP, February 16, 2021

Related News

Opinion / 7h

Why is Israel pushing toward confrontation with Türkiye?

Malaysia / 1d

MP to raise commingled oil cargo tax uncertainty in Parliament

Business / 1d

Independent review needed, not blind denial, to address US claims – maritime expert

World / 2d

Iran’s two-pronged strategy: The eradication of US forces in the Gulf and political defeat in Washington

Opinion / 1w

Wikipedia has become compromised by intelligence agencies and ideological capture

Opinion / 2w

Is the South China Sea moving from a ‘zone of peace’ towards the next conflict area?

Spotlight

Malaysia

RM245m Penang Hill cable car project 32 per cent complete - CM

By Ian McIntyre

Malaysia

Six locals charged over alleged kidnapping of Singaporean couple in Johor

Malaysia

PM: No political, racial or religious shield for those found guilty in TH, Felda probes

Malaysia

Singapore security guard jailed 14 days, fined RM7,000 for insulting Islam

Health

Dengue cases soar 56% to 58,079 as nation records 55 deaths

Malaysia

NGOs urge BERSAMA to put Indian community agenda on political radar

By Alfian Z.M. Tahir

Health

MOH warns seniors against unproven hydrogen inhalers

Malaysia

Former Tabung Haji CEO remanded seven days as MACC RCI probe deepens

Malaysia

21 held in KLIA-Nilai crackdown on alleged online love scam syndicate

You may be interested

Business

Robo.ai expects shareholders’ equity to turn positive after restructuring

By Alfian Z.M. Tahir

Business

Independent review needed, not blind denial, to address US claims – maritime expert

Business

Oil prices surge as US-Iran standoff, Ukraine strikes rattle global energy markets