American Express is a Card Issuer, Merchant Acquirer and Payment Card Network, which is a unique operating model in Canada that offers choice to merchants on how they accept our Cards. All merchants have the option to work directly with American Express to accept our Cards and, depending on eligibility, small merchants also have the option to accept our Cards through a payment processor under the American Express OptBlue program.
How a merchant accepts American Express Cards will determine their pricing for Card acceptance, either set by American Express directly or by their payment processor. In all cases American Express’ pricing models are consistent across credit and charge cards, and are designed to be clear, transparent and not misleading.
How to accept American Express in Canada
Directly
Merchants that choose to accept American Express cards directly with American Express receive services and settlements from American Express.
Merchants pay a single Discount Rate (a percentage of the purchase price) for all American Express credit and charge cards. Other rates and fees may apply based on whether a merchant is processing a card-not-present transaction, if the purchase is being made by a visiting international Cardmember, among others.
If you are receiving your statement directly from American Express and want to learn more, contact us:
Contact your dedicated Client Manager
Call us at 1-800-268-9877
Through Your Payment Processor
(American Express OptBlue Program)
The OptBlue program is designed for small merchants, providing a simplified option to accept American Express Cards through a participating payment processor.
In the OptBlue program, the payment processor sets the total pricing (rate and fees) that the merchant will pay for accepting American Express Cards. Depending on the payment processor’s pricing plans, this may include the American Express OptBlue Wholesale Discount Rate, as well as other Network Assessment Fees that American Express charges the payment processor for participating in the OptBlue program.
If you are accepting, or would like to accept, American Express through an OptBlue-participating payment processor, contact them for more information regarding merchant pricing and eligibility criteria.
American Express is fully committed to and supports the Code of Conduct for the Credit and Debit Card Industry in Canada.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you are a merchant that obtains merchant services through an OptBlue processor, please contact the processor with whom you have signed your Merchant Agreement for information about their services and pricing.
Please see American Express Canada OptBlue Wholesale Discount Rate and Other Network Assessment Fees for details. Please note, American Express does not charge Wholesale Discount Rates and fees directly to merchants.
If you are interested in accepting American Express Cards through a participating OptBlue payment processor and to find out more about eligibility, please contact one of these processors:
Eligible merchants who choose to accept through OptBlue benefit from an all-in-one solution and will have the convenience of the following:
- One single source for statements
- One settlement process
- One contact for servicing for all major card brands the merchant chooses to accept