Federal investigators are investigating business card sales practices at American Express Co., according to people familiar with the matter.
General inspections by the Treasury Department, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Federal Reserve are investigating whether AmEx used aggressive and deceptive selling tactics to sell cards to business owners and whether it hurt customers, people said. Some of the people are also examining whether specific employees contributed to the alleged behavior and whether higher-level employees supported it.
The Currency Controller’s Office is also investigating the practices of selling business cards to AmEx, according to people who know the subject.
More than a dozen current and former former AmEx employees previously told the Wall Street Journal that some vendors were heavily armed or tricked small business owners into signing up for cards to increase sales. Some vendors misrepresented the rewards and commissions of the cards or issued cards that customers had not sought, they said. An AmEx spokesman said at the time that the company had only encountered a very small number of problems, which were resolved “quickly and properly”, including disciplinary proceedings.
“We have strong compliance policies and controls and do not tolerate misconduct,” an AmEx spokeswoman said this week.