American Express Introduces A Small Business Tool

Since credit card swipe fees deter many small business owners from accepting  American Express, it has created a new offer to entice merchants to accept the card.

Go Social, a tool that allows business owners to create and manage easily redeemed coupon-free offers, establishes business locations on social network sites like Foursquare and track the deal’s success across various social networks and locations.

“You can select if you want to deliver targeted offers to new or repeat customers … or if you want to have mass reach and make it available to everyone,” says Bradley Minor, vice president for social media platforms. “You can then click through to determine where your offer will live­ — in Facebook, Foursquare and/or the new My Offers Mobile app.” 

After the deal has been sent to the smartphones of the cardholders you wish to target, customers can redeem the offer by syncing it to their American Express accounts. Then when the shopper charges the purchase at the retail location, the discount goes straight to the cardholder’s account. Store employees are not responsible for redeeming the offer.

The Go Social platform will be made available to small businesses that accept American Express cards for free. Big box stores and other larger merchants can create one offer for free, but they must pay for additional deals.