How and when we pay you

1. Welcome our Cards (and Travellers Cheques)

Your American Express transactions occur in one of three ways:

Card transaction, with the Cardmember present.
Card transaction, with the Cardmember not present.
American Express Travellers Cheques.

For detailed guidance on handling all your American Express transactions, click here.

2. Check your account.

Your statement arrives with you in one of two ways: either by post, or online. With Online Merchant Services, you'll save time, can download your financial data, and see details on your transactions. Either way, if you need more information, take a look at our statement guide, for a detailed explanation.

3. How and when we pay you.

How we’ll pay you. We’ll pay you the net amount we owe you. How do we arrive at this amount? We deduct the discount on each transaction, prior to settlement rather than asking you for payment at the end of the month. We may also offset any adjustments to your account, such as credits, refunds or Chargebacks.

When we pay you. We pay most Merchants within five business days, from the date we receive the charges. To find out when we pay your business, please consult your Merchant Payment Plan. Can’t find your Merchant Payment Plan, call our Merchant Customer Services team to request a new one.

When will you need to pay us? There may be times when your account is in debit. Reasons for this may include refunds you have made to Cardmembers, outstanding fees, or a Chargeback debited to your account after a Cardmember dispute.

How to settle any money you owe us? If you submit frequent transactions to American Express, that is at least monthly, we’ll deduct what you owe us from the next payment(s) we make to your business. Where we consider that those payments are not sufficient to clear the outstanding amount, we’ll contact you to make other arrangements for settlement.

Or, you can make your payment by cheque. Make it payable to: American Express Payment Services Ltd, then send it to:
American Express Payment Services Limited
Merchant Risk
87-00-008, Department 204
1 John Street
Brighton
BN88 1NH.

If you need to know more, download our guide on payments and reconciliation which provides further help and guidance on how our payment system works. Or refer to our Card Acceptance terms and conditions.

Please note: American Express will cease to issue paper cheques as a settlement medium with effect from 30 June 2010. We aim to settle with all our merchants via the safe and secure method of Credit Transfer, where funds are credited directly into your bank account. If you are currently receiving a cheque in settlement of submissions to American Express then we are requesting that you write to us at American Express Payment Services Limited, Merchant Account Management, PO Box 72, Amex House, Edward Street, Brighton, BN88 1YR, providing your preferred bank account details for future Credit Transfer payments and we'll do the rest.