American Express to increase focus on SMEs, startups in India

American Express, global player in commercial payments, plans to focus on SMEs and startups to drive growth in India. The company plans to step up focus on expense management solutions in the mid-market and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) segment in India.

“We have over 13,000 companies as our clients and the SME segment has been a growing business for us,” Saru Kaushal, Vice-President and General Manager, Global Commercial Services, American Express Banking Corp-India, said in Hyderabad.

The US-based company has about 1.2 million card members and 10.2 percent market share in India.

Organisations are now closely monitoring controllable expenses like travel and entertainment. “We have customised solutions and corporate card programme to help companies eliminate costly cash advances and monitor expenses. Our corporate card programme can result in savings of up to 10 percent,” she said.

According to a travel and expense management survey conducted by the American Express, the segment is considered the second-most controllable expense after salaries and benefits, she added.